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 […]
Revised on January 7, 2022Rainforest Alliance
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.
Revised on January 7, 2022Rainforest Alliance and UTZ (Certified), two major certifiers of coffee and other products, are merging.
Revised on January 7, 2022A new standard for Rainforest Alliance certification has been issued. Here, the changes to the “shade” criteria are explained.
Revised on December 7, 2020Studies in the Rainforest Alliance impacts reports hint at why some criteria in the proposed standard may be weaker.
Revised on January 7, 2022The 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?
Revised on January 7, 2022An update on the upcoming revision of the Rainforest Alliance standard.
Revised on January 7, 2022[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 […]
Revised on March 14, 2021An important and potentially crippling change is being proposed for the eco-standards applied to coffee for Rainforest Alliance certification.
Revised on July 28, 2020Rainforest 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.
Revised on January 7, 2022Results of the spring 2013 Cupping for Quality competition for Rainforest Alliance certified coffees, highlighting the linkage between sustainable farm management practices and cup quality.
Revised on March 4, 2021Recent 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.
Revised on January 8, 2022McDonald’s buys more eco-certified coffee and has a stronger commitment to coffee sustainability than most big coffee companies.
Revised on January 8, 2022Results of the December 2012 Rainforest Alliance Cupping for Quality competition.
Revised on January 8, 2022Rainforest Alliance requires companies using their seal for less-than-90% certified content to increase that percentage over time.
Revised on January 7, 2022