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Regulating sustainability in the coffee sector: A comparative analysis of third-party environmental and social certification initiatives

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Abstract

Certification and labeling initiatives that seek to enhance environmental and social sustainability are growing rapidly. This article analyzes the expansion of these private regulatory efforts in the coffee sector. We compare the five major third-party certifications – the Organic, Fair Trade, Rainforest Alliance, Utz Kapeh, and Shade/Bird Friendly initiatives – outlining and contrasting their governance structures, environmental and social standards, and market positions. We argue that certifications that seek to raise ecological and social expectations are likely to be increasingly challenged by those that seek to simply uphold current standards. The vulnerability of these initiatives to market pressures highlights the need for private regulation to work in tandem with public regulation in enhancing social and environmental sustainability.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the representatives of the certification initiatives analyzed here for taking the time to explain their organization’s strategies and procedures. We also thank the Ford Foundation, Community and Resource Development Program for funding research that informs this analysis. The views presented here are the responsibility of the authors and should not be attributed to these individuals or organizations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sociology Department, Colorado State University, Clark Building, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA

    Laura T. Raynolds, Douglas Murray & Andrew Heller

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  1. Laura T. Raynolds
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  2. Douglas Murray
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  3. Andrew Heller
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Correspondence to Laura T. Raynolds.

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Laura T. Raynolds is Professor of Sociology and Co-Director of the Center for Fair & Alternative Trade Studies (http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/Sociology/cfats/index.html) at Colorado State University. She has published extensively on organic and Fair Trade certification and globalization and has an edited volume forthcoming, Raynolds, L. T., D. Murray, and J. Wilkinson (eds.) (2007) Fair Trade: The Challenges of Transforming Globalization. London: Routledge Press.

Douglas Murray is Professor of Sociology and Co-Director of the Center for Fair & Alternative Trade Studies at Colorado State University. His research and publications focus on global certification and regulatory initiatives, development, environment, and pesticide issues particularly in Latin America.

Andrew Heller is PhD Candidate in Sociology and student affiliate of the Center for Fair & Alternative Trade Studies at Colorado State University. He is researching the impacts of certification on Guatemalan small scale coffee producers for his dissertation.

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Raynolds, L.T., Murray, D. & Heller, A. Regulating sustainability in the coffee sector: A comparative analysis of third-party environmental and social certification initiatives. Agric Hum Values 24, 147–163 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-006-9047-8

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