Ethiscore Report: Ethical shoppping guide to instant coffee.

Coffee Mourning?

Jane Turner and Lindsay Whalen look at the impact fairtrade tea and coffee is having for producers all over the world.

When Ethical Consumer readers think about tea and coffee, there's a good chance they associate it with fair trade. Clipper Fairtrade tea and Cafédirect coffee were the first Fairtrade Foundation certified products in the UK in 1994. So what's happenend since then?

The Fairtrade Foundation works with 5 million producers worldwide, with over 250 products certified from over 100 companies. The Fairtrade Foundation announced that sales of Fairtrade products in the UK in 2004 had grown by 46% in the last year to the value of £100 million.

Fairtrade brands now account for 14% of the total UK roast and ground coffee market. But only one of the world's top coffee companies, Nestlé, has any brands that are Fairtrade Foundation certified.

Best Buys as of March/April 2005

As our ratings are constantly updated, it is possible that company ratings on the ethiscore website may have changed since this report was written.

All Clipper's (0800 169 3552) teas are Fairtrade and organic and are therefore Best Buys. Next best is Cafédirect (0207 490 9520) whose two instant coffees are both Fairtrade, the decaffeinated variety also being organic.

Read the full Coffee (instant) report