It’s been known that K-cups have been causing a lot of waste ever since the Keurig came out in the early 2000s. According to NPR in 2015 sixty billion K-Cups had gone into landfills which is crazy!
The convenient and quick cup of coffee in minutes is hard to ditch! So here are a few ethical coffee brands changing the game with recyclable and compostable K-Cups.
I’ve tried coffee from each of these brands and can say with certainty that coffee addicts everywhere will approve.
These brands are great for stocking your office break room or keeping at home.
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Why Choosing Fair Trade Coffee Is Important
Unfortunately there is a lot of slavery in the coffee industry. By choosing to drink fair trade or direct trade coffee you’re ensuring the farmers were paid a fair price for their coffee beans which allows them to support their families.
Fair trade focuses on eco-friendly farming practices and reinvests money back into the farming communities. Each time you buy a bag of beans or a coffee, you’re voting with your purchase power, so choose to support fair trade.
Time Magazine estimates Americans spend an average of $40 billion on coffee every year. That’s insane! Think how amazing it would be, if that $40 billion was invested in positive social change such as fair trade coffee.
3 Fair Trade K-Cup Brands Worth Trying
If you’re ready to try single serve fair trade coffee capsules, all of the coffee brands below are fair trade verified by a third party organization. Recyclable fair trade k-cups are a more responsible option. The three brands below are a great place to start exploring.
I’ve personally tried k-cups from all three and am a fan of every single one!
SINGING ROOSTER: HAITIAN FAIR TRADE COFFEE IN COMPOSTABLE K-CUPS
Singing Rooster coffee is one of my favorite fair trade coffees that I discovered during my time in Haiti back in 2017.
Singing Rooster is part of the Fair Trade Federation and works to supply the U.S. market with gourmet Haitian coffee by partnering commercially with small producers in Haiti to build better businesses. Singing Rooster helps farmers with business training, equipment upgrades, and more.
Farmers are paid a MINIMUM of $3 per pound which exceeds the average farmers usually make. Singing Rooster returns another 50 cents after crops sell for continued business development.
This fair trade coffee comes in compostable cups and features hints of dark chocolate with a smooth rich body.
The remainder of cost pays for export/import, transport to roastery, warehousing, roasting, bagging, shipping.
Since Singing Rooster is a non-profit 100% of proceeds from sales are reinvested into farmer communities in the form of agricultural, small business management, and entrepreneurial development activities. So much awesome social impact in one cup of joe!
You can either buy their compostable kcups or purchase the bagged coffee and put it in your reusable k-cup.
My personal favorite roast from Singing Rooster is the Medium-Dark Vienna! This blend is described as the goldilocks blend because it’s not too dark and not too light. Singing Rooster’s newly compostable k-cups make it easy to enjoy this “goldilocks blend” guilt free!
LAUGHING MAN: CELEBRITY POWER FOR CHANGE
Laughing Man’s certified Fair Trade coffee has a huge variety of blends that come in recyclable k-cups. They also offer the opportunity for consumers to purchase k-cups in bulk and save a bit of money.
Laughing Man is an unexpected celebrity brand founded by Hugh Jackman. So awesome when celebs use their influence for positive change! Hugh Jackman’s coffee brand started off of a promise he made to a coffee farmer when traveling to Ethiopia.
This celebrity coffee brand is Fair Trade Certified and comes with recyclable k-cups.
Laughing Man works to make the coffee business more sustainable by working hands on with farmers and communities.
100% of profits are returned to the Laughing Man Foundation, which Jackman created to support educational programs, community development and social entrepreneurs around the world.
Personally, I love Hugh’s Blend which is a medium roast! Also, fun fact they have a cafe in NY that I’ve been dying to visit!
EKO-CUPS: ORGANIC, FAIR TRADE COFFEE
Eko-Cups is USDA Certified Organic, Fair Trade and Organic Coffee, Gluten and Lactose free, OU Kosher, and Vegan. Eko-cups is the perfect brand if you’re a flavored coffee person.
They carry a variety of roasts and flavors including vanilla, burnt caramel, hazelnut, and the list goes on!
These artisan roasted coffee pods are expertly sourced delivering bold robust flavors.
They have a great deal on a variety pack you can order from Amazon if you can’t decide which flavor to try! My personal favorite Eko-Cup is Bold. The K-Cups are easy to recycle after use!
Hopefully this guide helped you learn about the importance of choosing fair trade coffee and gave you some brands to choose from the next time you purchase k-cup coffee capsules.
If you found this helpful consider pinning this list for later!
