10 Ethical & Sustainable Coffee brands You Should Know

Happy National Coffee Day!

Before reaching our cups, coffee beans go on quite a journey. They are passed through dozens of hands and cross many international borders before being bagged and purchased by consumers. And many people ask the question: is the coffee I drink sustainable? The answer is not an easy yes or no.

Sustainable farming means farming without exploiting the land or the people who work that land. The International Labor Organization estimates that there are 150+ million children working to produce many of our everyday purchases such as coffee and cocoa. And coffee-driven deforestation has been particularly severe in the Atlantic Forest of South America - one of the world’s most ecologically diverse regions. Today, only 12.4% of the forest remains - evidence of land being exploited to produce coffee.

Exploitation of people and land are an unfortunate reality when it comes to the majority of the coffee we drink. That’s why we are on a mission to change this grim reality and to preserve one of our favorite beverages without harming people or the planet. We want to highlight some brands who not only address the coffee crisis, but make sustainability and ethics a key part of their mission.

1. Frinj Coffee

Santa Barbara’s Frinj Coffee presents a sustainable agricultural model that will pioneer California-grown coffee. As the climate changes more drastically and supply chain issues make it so the tropical regions where coffee has traditionally grown can’t keep up with demand, Frinj decided to grow coffee as locally as they could. Frinj uses an agroforestry model where they plant different crops next to each other so they benefit each other. For example, they grow avocado trees next to the coffee trees to shade them and protect them from weather while the coffee trees provide the soil with nutrients the avocado trees wouldn’t get otherwise. It’s a perfect symbiotic relationship that results in a more sustainable way to grow coffee.

2. Tiny Footprint Coffee

Tiny Footprint claim to be the world's first carbon-negative coffee that supports sustainability and fair labor. For every pound of their coffee sold, they donate a portion of the proceeds to fund reforestation in Ecuador’s Mindo cloud forest. According to their website, those trees will remove 54 lbs of CO2 from the atmosphere. The reforesting will also benefit the wildlife in the area and help rebuild water tables.

3. Pachamama

Pachamama is the first specialty coffee roaster in North America 100% owned and governed by smallholder farmers in Peru, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Mexico and Ethiopia. Designed to be sustainable for farmers and financially reward their social and environmental contributions to the world, Pachamama puts out a sustainability report every year to remain transparent about their dedication to their mission. All of Pachamama Coffee is organic, shade-grown, and sustainable.

4. Larry’s Coffee

Larry's occupies a cluster of three buildings with a roastery in the center, incorporating solar water-heated floors, rainwater-driven restrooms and a massive passive-solar clear story. Larry’s aims to provide a slow roasted cup of coffee while making the roasting process both environmentally and socially responsible. As a Certified B-Corporation, Larry’s coffee blends line are certified Fair Trade, Organic, and Shade Grown. They even house one of Raleigh’s few biopumps.

5. Equal Exchange

Co-op owned company Equal Exchange has been at it since 1986 when they started importing fairly traded coffee from Nicaragua despite a U.S. embargo. They now source both coffee and cocoa from over 40 small farmer organizations around the world of which they have long standing relationships.

6. Counter Culture Coffee

Since 1995, Counter Culture Coffee has been dedicated to measurable environmental, social, and fiscal sustainability. As a roaster, they work with many types of producers, from single-family farms to large co-ops, to tackle issues like climate change and education. Acknowledging that they work in an industry rife with historical damage, we focus on making decisions that do make a positive difference.

7. Forecast Coffee

Based in Bellingham, Washington, Forecast is a new brand that’s passionate about fighting climate change. They make sure to partner with farms that practice agroforestry and dedicate 5% of their profits to planting trees. Their coffees are carefully roasted in a carbon-neutral, green-powered facility and packaged in 100% plant-based bags. They currently offer 5 organic & Fair Trade coffees with more to come. Keep an eye on this brand - we look forward to see the good things they’ll continue to do for sustainability in the coffee world.

8. Grounds for Change

Grounds for Change is a certified organic coffee roaster specializing in sustainable coffee and supporting a wide range of progressive ecological and social programs. The complete carbon footprint (from crop to cup) for their coffee is offset with tree planting.

9. Café Mam

Café Mam sources certified Fair Trade and organic beans, all grown by cooperatives of native Mayan farmers living in the highlands of Chiapas. Over the years, the family-owned brand has built a serious following with customers that swear by both quality and consistency in these products. Café Mam thrives on the idea that coffee doesn’t need more glossy brands; it needs more authentic passion for quality and care.

10. Conscious Coffees

Conscious Coffees is a certified B Corporation that only buys beans grown on small family farms that are collectively self-organized into cooperatives—some of which are in Uganda, the Congo, and Ethiopia. The team is committed to educating consumers, too, about the social, environmental, and economic impacts of harvesting, roasting, and trading coffee. In 2021, Conscious Coffees was deemed a Best for the World winner out of the thousands of certified B Corps out there.