Fair Trade
Being fair trade is at the core of our business. For two decades, we have been active at coffee origin, building relationships with coffee farmers and cooperatives to improve the lives of coffee farmers, increase coffee quality standards, and to help implement sustainable farming practices at coffee origin.
Since 2001 we have been supporting coffee producers and their communities with funds.
We call it our Fair to Farmer Fund. Though this fund has gone through many iterations over the years, the principle has remained the same. We put 5 cents from every pound of coffee we produce towards projects at coffee origin.
Fair trade coffee costs a little bit more, but it goes a long way!
Many coffee farmers in the developing world don't receive a fair price for their crops. The commodity coffee market sometimes forces the coffee farmers to sell their crops below the cost of production, putting them in a cycle of poverty.
The premiums paid on fair trade coffee goes back to the coffee farmers and their communities in one or more of the following ways:
• New coffee farming kits - farming equipment, organic fertilizer and pesticides at a reduced price
• Upgrade existing farming equipmentSupply of young coffee plants - either to start or expand their farm
• Funding for schools, health centres in the farming community
Next time you enjoy a Salt Spring Coffee, you can feel good about supporting our fair trade and organic farming partners at origin!
A: Yes! But only in BC for now.
Recycle BC has launched a pilot program to begin recycling other flexible plastic packaging, which includes coffee bags—finally!
Over the years we’ve experimented with a number upcycling projects, and are always on the lookout for creative ways to use our high barrier coffee bags. We’re always on the hunt for suitable, sustainable coffee packaging. If you have suggestions, get in touch!
Oxygen speeds up coffee degradation, so it’s important to properly store coffee beans once they are freshly roasted.
We and countless other roasters use high barrier bags to package coffee that currently cannot be recycled. High barrier bags include a valve that lets off-gas nitrogen out and keeps oxygen from getting in. The coffee bean is the seed of a fruit – and, as is the case with fruit – it can spoil quickly unless it’s preserved and stored properly.
We’ve continued to research cellulose-based bags that biodegrade after use. This technology is becoming more widely available and we are optimistic that this might be an area where we find a viable solution. Our testing has shown that the product does not break down effectively unless it’s put through an intensive industrial composting process. And in many municipalities industrial composting is not easy to access, or even available.
Our team keeps close tabs on developments in the field of sustainable packaging with the intent to adopt suitable, sustainable coffee packaging as soon as packaging technology improves and it’s commercially available.
A: Yes! But only in BC for now.
Recycle BC has launched a pilot program to begin recycling other flexible plastic packaging, which includes coffee bags—finally!
Over the years we’ve experimented with a number upcycling projects, and are always on the lookout for creative ways to use our high barrier coffee bags. We’re always on the hunt for suitable, sustainable coffee packaging. If you have suggestions, get in touch!
Oxygen speeds up coffee degradation, so it’s important to properly store coffee beans once they are freshly roasted.
We and countless other roasters use high barrier bags to package coffee that currently cannot be recycled. High barrier bags include a valve that lets off-gas nitrogen out and keeps oxygen from getting in. The coffee bean is the seed of a fruit – and, as is the case with fruit – it can spoil quickly unless it’s preserved and stored properly.
We’ve continued to research cellulose-based bags that biodegrade after use. This technology is becoming more widely available and we are optimistic that this might be an area where we find a viable solution. Our testing has shown that the product does not break down effectively unless it’s put through an intensive industrial composting process. And in many municipalities industrial composting is not easy to access, or even available.
Our team keeps close tabs on developments in the field of sustainable packaging with the intent to adopt suitable, sustainable coffee packaging as soon as packaging technology improves and it’s commercially available.
