Coffee Shops: A short review. Pt2

Its taken me a while but I’ve finally got the replies I needed at the time to write. I’m always a little skeptical with coffee companies, even if they do sell fair trade. It seems to me that in many cases the sole purpose of promoting ethical products is to ensure they don’t lose business from the more ethical consumer. Whereas some people would boycott a brand if they didn’t sell fair-trade, I’m afraid some companies cover their backs by selling it as a precaution. I’m saying this because I believe fair-trade is coming into fashion and there is a lot of talk about it. It wouldn’t surprise me if companies are changing their produce slightly to cater towards this phase which they hope will soon die out. While selling fair-trade is still a good thing, despite the motives, I’d hate to see it fail with a simple alteration in consumer demand.

Food Travel Experts:
In our round-up of cafes and their Fair trade practices, we wanted to look up Pumpkin, the train station cafe chain. Turns out they’re owned by SSP, The Food Travel Experts. As I understand it, this is a large company that owns a number of different brands, including Millie’s Cookies and Upper Crust, also railway staples. I e-mailed them asking about their policy on fair-trade and this is their reply:

“I can confirm that we currently offer Fairtrade Coffee, Tea and Hot Chocolate within our Camden food co and Soho Coffee Company. I hope this helps and if you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact me. Thanks.
Kind Regards, Helen Rylands, Communications Manager”

So basically an answer any shorter would simply say “yes we do”. So there you have it. The company itself does sell fair-trade, but just in the ‘ethical’ brands within their portfolio, not across the board. In fact, their website big up their brand strategy thus: “given recent consumer trends and demand for fresh and healthy food with Fairtrade and organic credentials, we’ve developed the Camden Food Co, and Panopolis brands. Camden Food Co focuses specifically on the Fairtrade and organic space, with its freshly made, low fat, balanced diet approach to its menu, and its focus on biodegradable or recyclable packaging.”

So, rather than address fair trade issues and sustainability across their business, SSP simply invented a new brand that would sell the ethical alternatives. This is ducking the issue in my opinion – if you believe in the principles, you need to apply them to the whole range, not just fill the ‘Fairtrade and organic space’.

Coffee Republic:
Coffee Republic is a relatively new kid on the block in terms of coffee shops as it only opened its first store ten years ago. This may seem like a long time, but its dwarfed by the likes of Starbucks. I’ve been to coffee republic several times, particularly because they do a very nice “nutella hot chocolate” so i e-mailed them and asked them what their policy was on Fair Trade. The reply (as follows) was adequate enough for me;

“Dear Mr. Williams,

Thank you for your enquiry. I am pleased to be able to tell you that Coffee Republic has strong ethical trading links and fair trade links through their coffee roaster & coffee supplier.

Our coffee roaster is a registered Specialty Coffee Roaster and as such is independently audited to ensure that they trade fairly, ethically and protectively. Their coffee is fully traceable from source and adheres to a high level of fair trading to protect endangered plantations and growers. Its members activities are all strictly monitored.

The CSC organisation protects high-grade, endangered species, helping to guarantee the supply of raw materials, following determined quality criteria and at the same time assuring the survival of the growers in the supply chain, recognising the need to protect the growers livelihood & the continuance of high-grade coffee.

In the strict principles of fairly traded products, their CSC blends of coffee guarantee:

* buying direct from the farmers
* a stable and premium price paid for raw ingredients
* helps disadvantaged and marginalised producers
* paying a price to producers that covers the costs of sustainable production and living
* pays a premium direct that producers can invest in development
* partial advance payments when requested by producers
* signed contracts which allow for long-term planning and sustainable production practices
* careful monitoring and auditing by independent inspectors to ensure that CSC products are being fairly traded

Our coffee supplier hence supports Fair trade projects, they have projects in El Salvador , India and Guatemala , contributing to houses being built, education and wage agreements.

Our roaster also supports other global Charities, they are and have been for several years the global sponsor for Restaurants against Hunger / Action against Hunger a charity that works in over 40 countries, specializing in the treatment of child malnutrition.

Each year Action Against Hunger helps more than five million people in some 40 countries, saving the lives of malnourished children & assisting families toward self-sufficiency, e.g. distributing seeds to over 7000 families in Cambodia , Malawi , digging & installing open wells in over 100 villages for easy access for drinking water in Sri Lanka

Non-governmental, non-profit, non-political, non-religious, Action against Hunger UK is a registered charity No 1047501, signatory of the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross & Red Crescent Movement & Non Governmental Organization Disaster Relief Aids Charity.

For more information you can also visit: http://www.restaurantsagainsthunger.org and http://www.musetti.it

We hope you have found this information useful.

Best regards,

Coffee Republic Plc.”

So there you have it really. Based on that information from the company themselves I think that says enough.

Pret A Manger:
Despite a large proportion of this company being owned by McDonalds, Pret A Manger has high standards of fair-trade and sustainability. I personally avoid any thing that has to do with McDonalds however i cannot deny that Pret. are commendable. Just as an example, they are one of the few companies who use recycled napkins. Both their website and reply to my requests a filled with details every consumer should know:

“Good Afternoon Paul.

Thanks for your email.

All our coffees are now Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance and organic. And made with Rachel’s organic milk, unless you prefer it black. This means that when it comes to growing our coffee we follow strict organic growing and sustainability standards that protect local ecosystems and wildlife.

We don’t use any chemicals that could be dangerous to the environment while growing, harvesting or manufacturing our coffee. This also means that we pay a higher price to the coffee producers for all our coffee beans, ensuring that this covers their production and living costs. The premium we pay goes towards areas such as schools, healthcare, roads and improved housing.

I hope this helps.

Regards Giovanna”

AMT:
AMT coffee is a 100% fair-trade coffee shop here in the UK. They supply all fair-trade produce as well as organic milk to accompany them. In fact, this is what it says on their site:

“AMT Coffee are the founders and leaders of gourmet take-away coffee in the UK. We were the first and only national coffee company to go 100% Fairtrade with our coffee and 100% Organic with our milk!”

I have a lot of respect for this coffee company because they are one of the few people who’ve got the right idea. Not only do they sell completely organic and fair-trade produce, they are the leading company in this area. They are relatively small and hard to find. I have only come across one store since my discovery of them however i definitely feel they are worth hunting down. The website has a “store locater” so you can find you’re nearest store easily. Interestingly, on the “Our Mission” page they say that “Due to our customers suggestions, we became the first national coffee company to go 100% fairtrade with our coffee and 100% organic with our milk – if we can do it so can the big ones!”.

I find this encouraging since this is the goal which I think all coffee companies should be striving for. Its only by asking and demanding fairtrade that we as consumers can get companies to act. In this case, it appears AMT have taken consumer advice and I herald them for that. As a coffee drinker I ask others to help me support this small brand and demand fair-trade in every coffee shop we enter. Lets join AMT in their quest to make every company a fair trade company. Like they said – if they can do it, why can’t everyone else?

• Part 1 – Includes Costa, Nero, and Morelli’s.