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Greening the Economy: Certified Sustainable Coffee

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Stories of Progressive Institutional Change

Abstract

About 1.6 billion cups of coffee are consumed every day around the world. Measured by trade volume, coffee is the most important agricultural crop. It is the second most traded commodity after oil. It was also the first product to be fair trade certified and is the leading global fair trade product. Shade-grown coffee, in particular, provides an alternative to agricultural practices that erode soil, over-utilize water, and decimate forest habitats. The shade-grown Rainforest Alliance and Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center bird-friendly coffees are featured. These certifications result from alliances between producers in the developing world and consumers in the USA and Europe. As described in this chapter, such certifications, though sometimes compromised, move us toward global sustainable agriculture and sustainable development practices.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Stockton University, Galloway, NJ, USA

    Deborah M. Figart

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  1. Deborah M. Figart
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Correspondence to Deborah M. Figart .

Supplementary Applications

Supplementary Applications

  1. 1.

    Name some products by brand name that you have seen sold with fair trade logos such as cocoa (chocolate), coffee, tea, wine, T-shirts made from fair trade cotton, bananas, soap, cocoa butter, shampoo, make-up, bath oil. Do you purchase any fair trade products? If so, why do you make that consumption choice?

  2. 2.

    Where is the closest place you can purchase a cup of fair trade coffee? What is the fair trade certification system (logo)?

  3. 3.

    Is there fair trade coffee at your college or university? Learn about fair trade campaigns at schools, universities, religious congregations, and towns at http://fairtradecampaigns.org/campaign-type/universities/.

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Figart, D.M. (2017). Greening the Economy: Certified Sustainable Coffee. In: Stories of Progressive Institutional Change. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59779-9_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59779-9_9

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-59778-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-59779-9

  • eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceEconomics and Finance (R0)

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