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Rainforest Alliance certification – a case of frog wash?

Major coffee brands, such as Costa and Kenko, are sourcing increasing amounts of their coffee beans from Rainforest Alliance certified farms. At Costa cafes, Fairtrade coffee remains an option for customers if they ask when ordering. So how do we choose between the labels as customers in shops and cafes? How does Rainforest Alliance certification compare with Fairtrade? MK Fairtrade Forum member, Peter Williams, gives an informed view:

Backed by massive TV advertising, Rainforest Alliance certification is the darling of many (especially US) companies. It is a US environmental organisation, which got into certification of agricultural production in order to reduce environmental damage from pesticides and unsustainable agricultural methods.

Fairtrade standards for coffee, cocoa and most other crops (except tea, bananas and flowers) are aimed at smallholders and giving them equitable access to export markets. Fairtrade is proven to help smallholder farmers – who are the majority of the world’s poor – work their way out of poverty. One of the biggest impacts of Fairtrade is not the extra price, but the fact that to access it smallholders have to get organised, and it is this organisation that leads to their empowerment.

The RFA standards are designed for larger farms, not smallholders. “Smallholder banana farmers I spoke to in Dominican Republic fear that RFA certification could squeeze smallholders out of the market”, said Peter.

“While RFA and Fairtrade standards for plantations are comparable, RFA inspectors have little or no experience in labour rights. I spoke in February 2008 to workers at one of the few banana plantations in Costa Rica where there is a union. The chair of the local union who works on the plantation told me that RFA inspectors have never contacted the union to get their view on working conditions at the plantation. The agricultural workers union federation (IUF) is very critical of RFA.”

Unlike Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance certification offers no minimum price, so the ability of farms to offer good working conditions is not guaranteed. But that also means that the coffee, bananas and other products certified are cheaper than their Fairtrade equivalents, which is very interesting to companies. As one recent academic paper noted:

“the Rainforest Alliance certification is likely to be cheaper for the buying company,” especially if coffee prices remain low as they have been in recent years. This price advantage has led cost-conscious, high volume purchasers to commit to purchasing Rainforest Alliance certified agricultural products. Major corporations such as Kraft, McDonald’s, Caribou Coffee, Nestle, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Johnson&Johnson and KLM Airlines have purchasing commitments for the Alliance’s certified agricultural products, with most of these companies primarily purchasing coffee from certified farms. The Rainforest Alliance has used its partnerships with large corporations to drive sales of certified agricultural products, and has been relatively successful as its certified bananas now comprise about 15% of traded bananas and certified coffee has about 15% of global market share. (Source: Examining the Rainforest Alliance’s Agricultural Certification Robustness, Feliz Ventura, University of California, Winter 2007)

So in short, RFA is implementing an ethical trade standard (but not very well as regards improving the rights and conditions of farm-workers). It is improving farm practice, and helps wildlife, but does not challenge how trade is structured, nor give access to the market for smallholders in the way in which Fairtrade excels.

For further discussion and information on the issues, see:

• Costa Coffee chooses Rainforest Alliance over Fairtrade, By Claudia Cahalane, Social Enterprise Magazine: www.socialenterpisemag.co.uk

• Rainforest Alliance Certification: www.rainforest-alliance.org

• Fairtrade Certification: www.fairtrade.org.uk

Peter Williams

February 2009