This article first appeared in our Organic September 2024 issue of My Green Pod Magazine. Click here to subscribe to our digital edition and get each issue delivered straight to your inbox
Demand for ethical coffee is rising in line with awareness of the issues facing coffee growers – but as big brands fight for a share of the market, greenwash is rife.
Earlier this year, the USA’s National Consumers League filed a lawsuit alleging Starbucks is ‘falsely and deceptively’ claiming ‘100% ethical’ coffee and tea sourcing, detailing widespread evidence the company relies on farms and cooperatives that commit egregious labour and human rights violations.
Any discussion of ethics in coffee production must cover everything from environmental sustainability and biodiversity to fair labour practices, economic justice and community impact.
‘Claiming ‘100% ethical’ might be overly ambitious due to inherent complexities and ongoing challenges’, accepts Nick Ratsey, founder and director at Blue Goose Coffee; ‘yet striving for the highest possible ethical standards is crucial’.
Nick launched one of the first compostable Nespresso-compatible capsules into the UK market, and went on to launch Blue Goose Coffee in early 2019.
‘They say do something you are passionate about, and for me that was coffee’, Nick tells us. ‘I was also motivated to address the huge waste caused by plastic and aluminium capsules, as I knew a viable alternative was available.’
Over the last 30 years or so, coffee pods have continued to grow in popularity and are now a feature of many kitchens, offices and hotel rooms around the world.
While the convenience factor can’t be denied, this shift has come at a significant environmental cost.
Today billions of single-use coffee pods are produced and discarded annually.
In 2018 it was estimated that 59 billion coffee pods were sold worldwide – a number that will only have increased following the pandemic, when many sought to upgrade their coffee-making options at home.
‘Traditionally pods have been made out of plastic or aluminium, and the mix of materials used makes these pods difficult to recycle’, Nick explains. ‘Sadly the vast majority end up in landfill; the mountains of plastic pods will take up to 500 years to break down while their aluminium cousins can take up to 200 years.’
Nespresso has confirmed that only 28% of its capsules get recycled, meaning 72% (or 42 billion pods, based on the 2018 count) end up in landfill.
In contrast, Blue Goose Coffee pods start life as a waste product from the European printing industry and are created using renewable energy.
After use they can be collected with your food waste and processed into compost or liquid fertiliser within around 12 weeks, depending on the facilities used by your local council. This also reduces the methane released by coffee grounds as they rot.
‘If you compost at home, then with the right mix of conditions our capsules break down in around three months’, Nick shares.
When Nick set up Blue Goose Coffee, he committed to putting people and the planet ahead of profits by empowering farmers, supporting fair trade principles and fostering a more just and sustainable coffee supply chain.
The mission from the start was to source, process and deliver world-class coffee to customers in the most responsible way possible.
‘All the coffee we source is speciality grade, meaning it’s graded 80 points and above on the Speciality Coffee Association’s 100-point index’, Nick says. ‘As well as being among the highest-graded coffee in the world, speciality coffee refers to the whole farming and supply chain.’
Coffee of this calibre is usually grown at a higher altitude and often requires more care and attention during farming, picking and processing – and this naturally impacts the price.
‘For all our coffees at Blue Goose, we pay smallholder cooperatives a premium as they are producing the highest-quality coffee in the world’, Nick explains. ‘This premium is well above the Fairtrade minimum price and the commodity end of the coffee market, and means our growers not only enjoy a greater income, but can grow their businesses so their communities and families can grow and prosper, too.’
Higher pay also means growers can continue to invest in the sustainable farming practices that maximise biodiversity and use the tree and forest canopies to shade-grow their crops, producing a superior coffee.
‘For us it has never been about slugging back a mug of black liquid with a generic coffee flavour’, Nick says. ‘No, the morning coffee ritual is about exploring and celebrating the delicate flavours and nuances of different coffees, their origins and the farming practices used. Shade-grown coffee and rich biodiversity improve your daily coffee in so many ways.’
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