How to make sure that the coffee beans are ethically sourced?

[tealoverme]

I heard about companies in Africa that are using children as part of their labor force. With these unethical practices, how could I make sure that I will be buying ethically processed coffee beans? This is to make sure that we don't support coffee companies that are doing bad things.

 

[709espresso]

Looking for Fair Trade or Rainforest Alliance symbols is a start. It probably doesn't go far enough, but farmers do have to meet certain standards of production and ethics. If you buy fresh beans, often a roaster will include descriptive information about responsible farming for those that participate. You can then support those farms with your purchases.

 

[Musicphan]

The reality is there is no way to assure that is not happening.... in fact I would imagine in most countries it does happen. Until the consumer is willing to pay more money for coffee this won't change. The large industry players pay so little for the coffee in a lot of cases it is just above the farmer's costs. Fair Trade, although has good intentions, is often irrelevant. In fact in most cases smaller craft roasters pay MUCH more than Fair Trade practices. We do this for a) quality b) to support an industry that will continue.