Grower Certifications
Third Party Grower Certifications: The Good and the Bad
When Town Coffee first opened we thought that every coffee we carried would have all of the popular grower certifications. These third-party certifications are used to show that certain standards are being met. Common certifications are Rain Forest Alliance, USDA Organic, Fairtrade, UTZ and 4C Association. But as we learned more and talked with our coffee importers we began to see that if we were to only buy green coffee with these certifications in some cases that can actually hurt the people we set out to help.
Is “Sustainable Wages” A Specific Certification?
Sustainable wages is not a specific third-party certification for coffee growers, but it is an important aspect of several certifications that focus on social sustainability. For example, Fairtrade certification requires that farmers and workers are paid fair wages, which are defined as wages that meet or exceed legal minimums and provide a decent standard of living. Similarly, Rainforest Alliance certification includes criteria related to decent working conditions and living wages for workers. Additionally, certifications such as 4C Association and UTZ also have social criteria that include fair wages, safe and healthy working conditions, and non-discrimination as well as providing access to education and training opportunities.
Why Are These Certifications Not Always Good?
Third-party certifications can be an additional expense for coffee farmers, especially for those who may already be struggling financially. The costs of certification can include application fees, inspection fees, and the cost of making necessary changes to meet the certification standards. These costs can be a burden for small-scale farmers who may have limited resources. Additionally, some farmers may not have the knowledge or capacity to implement the required changes, which can further add to the financial burden.
Moreover, there are also other factors that can negatively affect the farmers like lack of access to credit, lack of technical assistance, lack of market linkages, weak governance and lack of infrastructure. These can prevent farmers from being able to afford or access the certifications, which can limit their access to certain markets and potentially decrease their income.
The farms we work with want to produce the very best coffee and they understand the craft coffee market is seeking simply grown wonderful coffees. Pesticides and fertilizers are expensive, hard to get to the higher elevations with nascent road systems and at the higher elevations and cooler nights in the mountains where pests are not an issue they are under normal conditions unnecessary.
Additionally the mass migration of many central and south American people to the United States has created problems finding enough employees. Their models must change to increase pay for workers in order to retain them. Many times on coffee farms workers include family members and even entire towns so paying a sustainable and living wage is very important to these smaller growers already.
Supporting Disenfranchised Coffee Farmers
Farmers with small plots, women farmers who are disenfranchised in the industry and poorer farmers without access to capital also grow amazing coffees. To only buy from growers with the certifications leaves them out and also means that we may miss out on really great coffees. By working with smaller importers that have long established relationships and who visit the farms and get to know the people we can be assured of their practices and their values. Through them we make sure that the grower is embracing best practices and is paying fair wages and aligns with our values as a company.
The importers cherish these relationships and are willing to pay the prices the farmers need to achieve their needs. Sometimes the importer will even guarantee to purchase the entire yield of a grower they have history with. This provides predictable and guaranteed income for them and for the importer further builds that exclusive partnership and gives them proprietary access to great coffees year after year.
How Does Town Coffee Help?
At Town Coffee we love building strong relationships with our growers and our importers. Having access to smaller farmers and unique and under-represented varieties lets us bring coffees to our customers that they may have never experienced before. That is craft coffee! We will always learn about where our coffees come from and the practices of the growers but we will not pass on a coffee just because it does not have specific certifications. That doesn’t do justice to our Mission Statement of helping our partners to individually grow and succeed.
Read about our coffees and where they come from and who the growers are on the Coffee page of our website. We love representing these great farms and helping to build craft coffee for everyone!
