Look for this logo to ensure the coffee is fair trade.
With today's weakened economy, it is very easy to go to your local corner store and get coffee for a few bucks cheaper. However, is it a good idea? Here are a few questions to ponder before purchasing coffee solely on price.
- Do the farmers take care of the surrounding environment?
- What's the environmental impact of this coffee?
- What's the economic impact of this coffee?
The best way to buy coffee responsibly is to simply look for the certified fair trade label on the packaging. This means that the coffee went through a lengthy application process with the governing body that ensures that all the processes leading up to selling that particular coffee had the best interest of the local farmer and economy in mind.
Basically, it means that the coffee traders bought the coffee from the growers at a reasonable price, ensuring more money goes into the local economy.
One local coffee company taking this to heart is Longbottom Coffee & Tea.
Longbottom buys fair trade coffees, estate coffees, co-op coffees, and organic coffees which are shade grown, bird friendly and sustainable.
Longbottom has also been a certified organic producer since January, 2003. Their Cafe Equitas brand of coffees is certified organic by Oregon Tilth in accordance with FDA and NOP standards.
Meaning, the coffee beans were grown without pesticides that endanger the surrounding environments, animals and crops. They were cultivated with low-impact techniques to keep the surrounding areas fertile and unharmed. They were packaged and shipped with low-impact procedures.
In fact, they've been selected as a training location for organic inspectors.
Environmental Responsibility
Longbottom has taken it one step further. Not only do they take a stance on who and where they buy, they also practice what they preach, by:
- Packaging goods with recycled boxes
- Using biodegradable popcorn starch packing peanuts and recycled newspaper packing materials
- Use small and fuel efficient half-ton cargo vans to make local deliveries
- Use afterburner systems on all roasters to reduce emissions
- Use recycled paper for much of their for printing
Social Responsibility
?Longbottom could have stopped there and went on its merry way feeling good all the way home, but they went one step further.
Believing it is their responsibility "to help economically disadvantaged coffee producers," they purchase and promote organic and fair trade coffees and are sponsors of Coffee Kids, an international non-profit organization established to improve the quality of life for children and families who live in coffee-growing communities around the world.
How can you help them help others?
They've been so kind as to donate a little bit from every sale of Longbottom Coffee to Coffee Kids on a monthly basis.
Fore more information: Visit them at 4893 NW 235th Ave, Hillsboro, OR 97124 or online. I hear their Equitas Black Gold is delicious!
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