Coffee is the world’s most highly traded commodity after oil. Twenty-five million families in more than fifty countries rely on it for their livelihoods. Coffee is often their main or only source of income.

We believe in the principle of free markets, but recognise that the global coffee industry does not operate as one. Farmers are frequently economically disempowered. They do not have access to the means of production necessary to develop alternatives to growing coffee. At the same time, they do not have the market access, or market information required to achieve prices above the cost of production on an ongoing basis.

Matthew Algie find this unacceptable. We have been working for over a decade to do something about it.

Green Coffee
We only buy green coffee from traceable sources. This means that we know where our coffee comes from, where it was grown, who by and under what conditions. We keep in contact with the farmers and co-operatives that grow our stocks, and work with them to get better quality beans at origin.

We want to provide stability to the farmers who supply us. We have a history of continuous trading with suppliers who meet our quality standards and have built valuable partnerships with smallholder co-operatives around the world. If you think this sounds a bit woolly, please ask us if you would like some details or examples.

We are deeply concerned about the poor working conditions that many coffee farmers face. To help address this we have full traceability of all of our green coffee, back to origin. We make sure that all of our origins are independently audited to International Labour Organisation (ILO) standards. These standards cover issues such as the use of child labour, unionisation rights and safe and clean working conditions. We review the findings ourselves. If standards aren’t being complied with we follow up with the producers to make the improvements needed, over an agreed timescale. If there are serious issues we will no longer trade with the supplier.

If we are sourcing coffee from a new origin or co-op we sometimes purchase one ‘test container’ before ensuring that this source has been audited. Thereafter there are regular audits.

Coffee Certification
Over the last few years, numerous certification schemes and consumer labels have emerged in the coffee industry. We believe that this leads to confusion for consumers: sometimes because the information is difficult; sometimes because it is misunderstood; sometimes because it is misrepresented either mistakenly or deliberately.

Our policy is only to use third party independently audited certifications for marketing our products.

We believe that the standards behind different certifications bring different benefits to coffee farmers and the environment. Our solution is multiple certification of coffee – it’s the only way to assure ethically minded consumers that their coffee is as sustainable as it can be. To this end, we launched the UK’s first triple certified coffee in November 2004. By triple certified, we mean Fairtrade, organic and Rainforest Alliance certified.

Fairtrade
We advocate Fairtrade as it guarantees a minimum price and therefore fair return to coffee farmers. It is also the only independent mark that offers a guarantee to consumers about the prices paid to the co-operatives who grew the coffee. We became a licensee of the Fairtrade Foundation in 1997 and opened up a significant new market for Fairtrade with the launch of the UK’s first Fairtrade espresso bean. Our Fairtrade coffee sales have increased every year and today about 70% of the green coffee we buy is Fairtrade certified.

We have worked with major customers to persuade them to switch to Fairtrade, and continue to encourage customers to add Fairtrade coffee to their menus. We’ve extended our range of Fairtrade products beyond coffee, and now supply Fairtrade tea, chocolate and sugar.

We will sell more Fairtrade coffee each year as we have done since 1997. We do not believe that all of our coffee will ever be Fairtrade, or indeed that this is desirable. This would require the
certification of large farms which could disadvantage existing Fairtrade certified smallholders within the marketplace. (The rules are that coffee can only be certified Fairtrade where it is purchased
through co-operatives).

Organic
Over 99% of the Fairtrade coffees we buy are also organically grown. The Organic premium that we pay on these coffees guarantees the farmers additional income. When we sell coffee as organically
certified, this means that they have also been organically roasted. Our roasting operation and our organic products are independently audited by the Organic Food Federation.

Rainforest Alliance
We became involved with the Rainforest Alliance because we believe it is the gold standard environmental certification for coffee growing, and buy Rainforest Alliance certified coffee from a range of co-operatives. We have been working since 2004 to help co-operatives gain Rainforest Alliance certification. We established the link between the La Central co-operatives in Honduras and the Rainforest Alliance to launch the UK’s first triple certified coffee.

More recently we have helped Cecovasa, a coffee cooperative we work with in Peru to gain Rainforest Alliance certification. We have also been working with co-ops in Ethiopia and Indonesia to try and achieve Rainforest Alliance certification, but to date they have not managed to attain the very high standards required.

GM
We do not buy any green coffee that contains genetically modified material. We believe that in the longer term, such crops may disadvantage smallholder farmers by requiring them to purchase new supplies of seeds, or chemicals to apply to their coffee plants.

Tea
All of the tea that we pack is from traceable sources. Matthew Algie is a member of The Ethical Tea Partnership (ETP). ETP are a member organisation of the ETI. We became involved with the ETP to ensure that workers are treated fairly and safe and decent working conditions exist on the estates we buy tea from. Our tea supply chain has been audited through the ETP audit programme.

All of our tea is Fairtrade certified where this is possible. In effect this means all of our tea, but excludes some products such as fruit infusions that consumers may think of as “tea”.

Coffee Kids
We are a major supporter of the international charity, Coffee Kids. Our annual donations are used to help fund community projects which help coffee farmers and their families find alternative sources of income to coffee farming.

Quotes
“I realise that we have moral obligation to assist people involved in producing the raw material on which our business is based”

“To do nothing, to sit back and let the market run its course is not an option I have ever been comfortable with”

“Will our actions make a difference? Maybe to a few hundred growers, however there are an estimated 25 million families involved in coffee harvesting so our efforts should be viewed in that context.”

David Williamson, Managing Director, Matthew Algie

More Information?
While some of the issues are complex, we want this statement to be transparent and easy to understand
If you have any questions please get in touch:

Colin Hopkins
Marketing Manager
Matthew Algie and Company Limited
T 0141 420 2211
E colinhopkins@matthewalgie.com

Our Policies
These are our policies on sourcing coffee and tea. Along with specific actions or projects we have carried out, these form the basis for this statement. We want this statement to be as clear as possible. No spin. If you would like clarification on any of the points, please contact us.