In 2017, Rainforest Alliance announced they would merge with Utz (another certification), retain the Rainforest Alliance name, and develop a new standard — the set of rules and criteria required for a product to be labeled with the Rainforest Alliance certification seal. This standard was released on 30 June 2020. Here I will summarize, as…
Rainforest Alliance
Rainforest Alliance certified coffee: useless to evaluate shade-grown conditions
Do not use Rainforest Alliance certification as an indication that coffee was shade-grown or even particularly eco-friendly. And the new proposed rules will make it even less likely.
Rainforest Alliance and UTZ to merge
Rainforest Alliance and UTZ (Certified), two major certifiers of coffee and other products, are merging.
The new Rainforest Alliance shade requirements
A new standard for Rainforest Alliance certification has been issued. Here, the changes to the “shade” criteria are explained.
Rainforest Alliance impacts report, Part 2
Studies in the Rainforest Alliance impacts reports hint at why some criteria in the proposed standard may be weaker.
Rainforest Alliance impacts report, Part 1
The Rainforest Alliance impacts report says 82% of coffee farms comply with current shade requirements. Yet they have said that most farms do not fully implement these requirements, and that’s why they proposed weakening this requirement. What’s going on?
Update on proposed new Rainforest Alliance standard
An update on the upcoming revision of the Rainforest Alliance standard.
Rainforest Alliance drastically revises shade requirement
[Updates: Since this post, the standard revision, and the merger with UTZ, many of the links in this post have been eliminated; I’ve replaced them with archived links that will hopefully provide historical context. The newest 2020 standard is discussed here.] The Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) is revising the standards used for Rainforest Alliance certification;…
The (de)evolution of Rainforest Alliance shade criteria
An important and potentially crippling change is being proposed for the eco-standards applied to coffee for Rainforest Alliance certification.
Certification improves access to credit for farmers
Rainforest Alliance recently announced the release of an important study outlining an overlooked benefit for farmers of achieving certification: the ability to get larger and more frequent small loans.
Rainforest Alliance Cupping for Quality — April 2013
Results of the spring 2013 Cupping for Quality competition for Rainforest Alliance certified coffees, highlighting the linkage between sustainable farm management practices and cup quality.
Caribou Coffee’s new owners: killing the brand?
Recent actions by the new owners of Caribou Coffee (Joh. A. Benckiser Group, a private German holding company), seem to indicate a move towards away from sustainably-sourced and 100%-certified coffees. Just what I was afraid of.
McDonald’s makes substantial commitment to coffee sustainability
McDonald’s buys more eco-certified coffee and has a stronger commitment to coffee sustainability than most big coffee companies.
Rainforest Alliance Cupping for Quality — Dec 2012
Results of the December 2012 Rainforest Alliance Cupping for Quality competition.
Rainforest Alliance now requires scaling up
Rainforest Alliance requires companies using their seal for less-than-90% certified content to increase that percentage over time.