Wal-Mart Fair Trade Coffee

Wal-Mart has launched six new coffees under its exclusive Sam's Choice brand. The new coffees include Organic, Fair Trade Certified and Rain Forest Alliance Certified blends.  The new Sam's Choice brand coffees hit store shelves earlier this month and are part of an Earth Month expansion of eco-friendly products at Wal-Mart that help consumers live better without compromising budget.

The initial Sam's Choice gourmet coffees include Fair Trade Certified ™ House Blend, Espresso Roast and French Roast; Rainforest Alliance™ Certified Breakfast Blend whole bean and ground coffee; and USDA Organic, Swiss Water® Process Decaffeinated.

All Sam's Choice coffees are 100 percent Arabica beans.

In addition, the six Sam's Choice gourmet coffees are roasted by Café Bom Dia, a Brazil-based company that measured, reduced and offset its emissions to become the world's first CarbonNeutral roaster.

"We recognize our customers' desire to buy products that have a positive environmental and social impact, and we are proud to offer an affordable line of coffee that is sourced and roasted with sustainability in mind," said DeDe Priest, senior vice president and general merchandise manager for Wal-Mart.

"Wal-Mart is an innovative partner in offering high quality, Fair Trade Certified coffee in a manner that both expands the marketplace and delivers value back down the supply chain to the farmer. A year from now we will be able to trace Sam's Choice coffee sales directly to improved environmental management at Fair Trade coffee farms and higher quality of life in farm communities," said Paul Rice, TransFair USA president and CEO.

"Certification requires farms to meet environmental, social and economic standards that protect soils and waterways and provide workers with dignified working and living conditions," said Tensie Whelan, president of the Rainforest Alliance. "Wal-Mart's offering of Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee nationwide will make it easier than ever for shoppers to do the right thing by choosing coffee that comes from farms where wildlife habitat is protected and communities are supported."

The coffee blends will sell for $5.88 for 10-12 oz. bags and are initially available at Wal-Mart Supercenter stores.  The coffees will be available at all Wal-Mart stores by the end of month.

Comments

[Julie]

People really need to "look under the hood" of Walmart's sustainability claims. I don't think it serves the public to regurgitate Walmart's press releases without any critical analysis. I've published several articles on where this coffee comes from and why the claims they make about it are false.

[air conditioning]

I love that coffee :D Its super tasty if you ask me!