Caribou Coffee - Rainforest Alliance Certified

K-State's campus has a Caribou Coffee in the Student Union, a commonly visited area for many of us. But does Caribou carry fair trade coffee? According to Caribou’s website, they are now the first coffeehouse to serve 100 percent Rainforest Alliance certified coffee and espresso, but what does that mean?

According to rainforest-alliance.org, their certification is “awarded farms that meet the comprehensive standards of the Sustainable Agriculture Network,” which focuses on “environmental, social and economic sustainability” on farms of all sizes, from small cooperatives to large plantations. It also states, “Because we believe that companies deserve recognition for their commitments to conservation, we allow those using at least 30 percent Rainforest Alliance Certified content to put the seal on packaging.” If it is less than 90 percent, labels are required to state how much is Rainforest Alliance Certified. Confused a bit? Me too.

The good news is, since the end of 2011, 100 percent of Caribou's coffee is actually 100 percent Rainforest Alliance Certified. Definitely a step in the right direction! It's important to note that Rainforest Alliance Certified and Fair Trade Certified are not the same -- you can read Rainforest Alliance's explanation of the differences here: rainforest-alliance.org/agriculture/faq-fairtrade. I would like to note that their information is slightly biased. This report gives a breakdown of Fair Trade and Rainforest Alliance Certified, and salutes the Rainforest Alliance way because "they send a message to the big players in the coffee sector that they need to be more productive." I think it should be added that the option of supporting small farmers rather than the "big players" might be more productive than sending messages.

Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee COULD potentially help workers, as they encourage better employment practices, but their work with large corporations is somewhat of a red flag for me. They also state that they "ensure biodiversity on huge swathes of land," which is very exciting. The downside to this whole thing is that Caribou Coffee in the Union no longer carries the Fair Trade blend from Rwanda that they used to. While I salute Caribou for a step in the right direction, for the purposes of this project and this blog, which is to encourage students to understand and buy fairly traded coffee, I give them a C. While not the worst place to go, students should go get some Pura Vida coffee in the food court or head to CornerStone Coffee and Bakery in Jardine instead.

- Your friendly coffee companion, Laura