#greenwashing — Public Fediverse posts

Abby Martin Infiltrated the US Military. It's Worse Than You Think

https://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/abby-martin-infiltrated-the-us-military-its-worse-than-you-think/

#usterror #greenwashing #usmilitary #uspol #climatechange #ClimateCrisis #climateemergency #usimperialism

#News: 🇮🇩 #Indonesian gov and #companies mislabelled crude #palmoil #CPO as waste #POME to dodge taxes. They supply #EU giants like #Neste. Dirty palm oil #fraud fuels #deforestation and #greenwashing Close #EUDR loopholes #BoycottPalmOil @palmoildetectives https://eia-international.org/blog/green-fuel-compromised-by-dirty-trade-a-look-at-indonesias-palm-oil-export-scandal/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=Palm+Oil+Detectives&utm_campaign=publer

“Sustainable” palm oil = #greenwashing. Instead #Boycottpalmoil every time you shop. Ingredient names: STEAR GLYC PALM LAUR are generally #palmoil. Avoid these and use your wallet as a weapon! #Boycott4Wildlife 🌴🪔🩸🚜🔥☠️🧐🙊 @palmoildetectives https://palmoildetectives.com/2021/02/11/palm-oil-free-brands/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=Palm+Oil+Detectives&utm_campaign=publer

RE: https://digitalcourage.social/@skruij/117123893689483678

#WandelMut #LeseLust. Das Kuratieren der Bücher ist zuweilen herausfordernd.

Das Thema ist wichtig und der Ansatz gut. Doch wie gut lassen sich Autorinnen und Autoren wirklich von ihren Werken trennen? Wann wird ein Buch zum #GreenWashing oder #SocialWashing? Aktuelles Beispiel 👇🏼(Meine Kritik in den Kommentaren)

Kann ich ein Buch, das von Vertreterinnen aus großen US-BigTech geschrieben wurde, wirklich guten Gewissens empfehlen? 🤔

Lasst mir gern Kommentare da, wie Ihr darüber denkt. Danke!

Questionable Climate Active certification scheme is coming to an end https://www.edo.org.au/2026/07/28/questionable-climate-active-certification-scheme-is-coming-to-an-end/ #trademark #greenwashing #certification

Questionable Climate Active certification scheme is coming to an end https://www.edo.org.au/2026/07/28/questionable-climate-active-certification-scheme-is-coming-to-an-end/ #trademark #greenwashing #certification

Questionable Climate Active certification scheme is coming to an end https://www.edo.org.au/2026/07/28/questionable-climate-active-certification-scheme-is-coming-to-an-end/ #trademark #greenwashing #certification

Questionable Climate Active certification scheme is coming to an end https://www.edo.org.au/2026/07/28/questionable-climate-active-certification-scheme-is-coming-to-an-end/ #trademark #greenwashing #certification

Questionable Climate Active certification scheme is coming to an end https://www.edo.org.au/2026/07/28/questionable-climate-active-certification-scheme-is-coming-to-an-end/ #trademark #greenwashing #certification

Już dawno temu słyszałem od niemieckich rolników, że termin "rolnictwo regeneratywne" zaczyna być tam przejmowane przez wielkie #korporacje. No i widać teraz, że tak samo dzieje się w Polsce. Orędownikiem #RolnictwoRegeneratywne stał się koncern Nestle: https://www.farmer.pl/produkcja-roslinna/rolnictwo-regeneratywne-jako-narzedzie-adaptacji-do-zmian-klimatu-i-stabilizacji-produkcji,175669.html
Nie mam więcej pytań.

#rolnictwo #ekologia #greenwashing #agrobiznes #ściema

Por qué lo hacen? Múltiples motivos Ante los crecientes recortes presupuestarios en #investigacióncientífica se recurre a lograr financiación de empresas privadas, como #petroleras @repsol @bp @total El precio a pagar es el #fraude del #Greenwashing académico o #ecoblanqueo Es #pseudociencia

a woman sitting in front of a ...

“We’re really firm believers that by contributing to the community and building upon open-source data models, the whole community moves further, faster,” (says Meta)
Where did Meta get it from in the first place? And why is MIT tech review falling for this propaganda?
#meta #MITtechnologyreview
#bigtech #propaganda #greenwashing
@mittechreview
@techreview https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/10/18/1105880/the-race-to-find-new-materials-with-ai-needs-more-data-meta-is-giving-massive-amounts-away-for-free/

#handsoff2025 Protest today!!!!! Join up with others to say #HandsOff our democracy and fight for your freedom!!!! Find Your LOCAL PROTEST HERE; https://www.mobilize.us/handsoff/

#UnplugTrump #PuckFutin #democracy #freedom #freespeech #life_liberty_happiness #betheblizzard #theavalancheofjustice #capitalism #CapitalismIsADeathCult #CapitalismKills #SurveillanceCapitalism #deforestation #DrillBabyDrill #deforestation #DefundDeforestation #DefundExtinction #progressive #TransRights #FreeSpeechTv #america #americans #americana #defiance #truth #TruthToPower #truth2power #protest #protests #theflagisforthepeople #eagle #pollution #corporations #corporations_are_not_your_friends #NoisePollution #ClimatePollution #thereisnoplanetb #fiftyfiftyone #VoteWithYourWallet #boycott #boycottusa #UnplugTrump #ElonMusk #elonmuskisanazi #gofuck_elonmusk #PutinIsAWarCriminal #PutinWarCriminal #putin #enviroment #enviromental #TheEnviromentExcuse #FreeMedicareForAll #peace #PeaceNow #PeaceTalks #PeaceLink #PrayForUkraine #fascism #NoFascism #fascismo #fascisme #Ukraine #UkraineWar #UkraineRussiaWar #_ukraine #Russia #russian #russiaToday #climate #ClimateCrisis #ClimateAction #ClimateChange #greed #CapitalistGreed #PharmaGreed #FearandGreedIndex #bigpharma #peaceonearth #tariffs #tarrif #Tariff #slavery #minimumwage #minimumwageraiseplz #Aristocrat #RunawayAristocrat #aristocrat #HumanRights #HumanRightsDay #media4humanrights #portugal4humanrights #usa #usa2025 #ușa #northcarolina #northcarolina1stcongressionaldistrict #northcarolina8thdistrict #northcarolina1st #DonaldTrump #UkraineIsOurFriend #trump #trumptariffs #newyork #rejectproject2025 #project2025 #project_2025 #project2025cansuckit #2025project #2025reads #election2025 #revision2025 #eatthe1percent #EatTheRich #EatTheRichs #eatREADsleep #bird #BirdPhotography #BirdWatching #birding #wildlife #nature #NaturePhotography #NatureLovers #NatureArtist #WildlifePhotography #WildlifeWednesday #WildlifeMurals #mouse #reptiles #MarineReptiles #SquamateReptiles #reptile #ReptileWorld #ReptileLovers #ReptileDatabase #boycott #Boycott4Wildlife #boycott4widlife #BoycottGold4Yanomami #boycott4palestine #ChildLabor #freespeech #freespeech4all #freespeech2 #tree #trees #tree_magic #TreeTime #déforestation #DefundDeforestation #amphibians #amphibian #AmphibiansOfInstagram #instagram #_instagram #facebook #FacebookFeed #FacebookFeed #twitter #TwitterMigration #twitter2 #Hippie #beachHippie #beach #BeachTown #BeachTravel #BeachCamping #google #degoogle #GooglePixel #GooglePlay #GoogleGo #yahoo #exclude_applenews_and_yahoo #degoogling #degooglenow #diversity #BioDiversity #DiversityEquityInclusion #DiversityMatters #censorship #Queer #QueerRights #QueerInkSquad #QueerWriters #NeuroDivergent #NeurodivergentWellbeing #NeurodivergentMood #NeurodivergentThinking #autism #AutismSpectrumDisorder #AutismPride #neurospicy #neurotypical #disabled #DisabledArtist #DisabledMastodon #lgbtq #lgbtqia #LGBTQIA2S #lgbtq_plus #lgbtqAlly #StraightAlly #lgbtqia2 #lgbtqia2a #straight #gardener #GardenJoy #forest #ForestTrails #ForestWhitaker #forest_deepness #forest #foresttherapy #therapy #leaf #leafLitter #sexuality #gender #GenderEquality #GenderPayGap #GenderVerbot #dirt #cloudflare #FascistGOP #gop #native #NativeAmerican #NativeAmericans #NativeBirds #insectpopulationdecline #insect #insects #InsectID #bug #bug2038 #black #peopleofcolor #eatlocal #macdonalds #camp #camping #ElderAbuse #elder #old #OldBuildings #conservation #OceanConservation #science #ScienceMastodon #OpenScience #OpenSource #mastodon #mastodonsocial #MastodonTips #lake #LakeErie #LakeCity #river #HudsonRiver #RiverSoul #river_plate #prairie #PrairieLife #pinetree #oldgrowthtree #ocean #OceanBeach #OceanHealth #flowers #WildFlowers #DailyFlowers #sky #SkyTonight #skype #discord #FuckDiscord #DiscordServer #DisneyboundingDiscord #ubuntu #UbuntuLinux #linux #linuxmint #linux_gaming #linuxgaming #GreenwashingKills #GreenWashing #furry #FurryArtist #furryart #furryfandom #totoabafish #VaquitaCPR #vaquita #fish #fishing #FishArt #FishCrow #MarineMammal #NativeMammal #mammal #StopPrimateShipments #primate #animalrights #NaturesRights #transrightsarehumanrights #TransRightsAreHumanRights #transrightsreadathon #transrights #lesbian #LesbianVisibilityWeek #LesbianArt #SydneyGayandLesbianMardiGras #gay #gayMAN #GayPride #GayMastodon #intersex #IntersexRights #IntersexAwareness #TransAndIntersexPrideDublin #asexual #AsexualPride #pride #asexuality #BoycottExxon #verizon

Il capitale nell'antropocene - Saiitō Kōhei. [Parte 2]

L'illusione che il capitalismo possa risolvere l'imminente disastro climatico. E anche la distruzione della terra, perseguita per raggiungere una presunta infinita crescita economica che di fatto conviene solo agli imprenditori. Ai miliardari.
#theendiscoming
#greenwashing
#Capitalismo
#riscaldamento_globale

Il capitale nell'antropocene - Saiitō Kōhei. [Parte 2]

L'illusione che il capitalismo possa risolvere l'imminente disastro climatico. E anche la distruzione della terra, perseguita per raggiungere una presunta infinita crescita economica che di fatto conviene solo agli imprenditori. Ai miliardari.
#theendiscoming
#greenwashing
#Capitalismo
#riscaldamento_globale

Il capitale nell'antropocene - Saiitō Kōhei. [Parte 2]

L'illusione che il capitalismo possa risolvere l'imminente disastro climatico. E anche la distruzione della terra, perseguita per raggiungere una presunta infinita crescita economica che di fatto conviene solo agli imprenditori. Ai miliardari.
#theendiscoming
#greenwashing
#Capitalismo
#riscaldamento_globale

Il capitale nell'antropocene - Saiitō Kōhei. [Parte 2]

L'illusione che il capitalismo possa risolvere l'imminente disastro climatico. E anche la distruzione della terra, perseguita per raggiungere una presunta infinita crescita economica che di fatto conviene solo agli imprenditori. Ai miliardari.
#theendiscoming
#greenwashing
#Capitalismo
#riscaldamento_globale

Il capitale nell'antropocene - Saiitō Kōhei. [Parte 2]

L'illusione che il capitalismo possa risolvere l'imminente disastro climatico. E anche la distruzione della terra, perseguita per raggiungere una presunta infinita crescita economica che di fatto conviene solo agli imprenditori. Ai miliardari.
#theendiscoming
#greenwashing
#Capitalismo
#riscaldamento_globale

Il capitale nell'antropocene - Saiitō Kōhei
L'illusione che il capitalismo possa risolvere l'imminente disastro climatico. E anche la distruzione della terra, perseguita per raggiungere una presunta infinita crescita economica che di fatto conviene solo agli imprenditori. Ai miliardari.

#theendiscoming
#greenwashing
#autoelettriche
#tesla
#teslaprotests
#inquinamento
#riscaldamento_globale
#capitalismo

Il capitale nell'antropocene - Saiitō Kōhei
L'illusione che il capitalismo possa risolvere l'imminente disastro climatico. E anche la distruzione della terra, perseguita per raggiungere una presunta infinita crescita economica che di fatto conviene solo agli imprenditori. Ai miliardari.

#theendiscoming
#greenwashing
#autoelettriche
#tesla
#teslaprotests
#inquinamento
#riscaldamento_globale
#capitalismo

Il capitale nell'antropocene - Saiitō Kōhei
L'illusione che il capitalismo possa risolvere l'imminente disastro climatico. E anche la distruzione della terra, perseguita per raggiungere una presunta infinita crescita economica che di fatto conviene solo agli imprenditori. Ai miliardari.

#theendiscoming
#greenwashing
#autoelettriche
#tesla
#teslaprotests
#inquinamento
#riscaldamento_globale
#capitalismo

Il capitale nell'antropocene - Saiitō Kōhei
L'illusione che il capitalismo possa risolvere l'imminente disastro climatico. E anche la distruzione della terra, perseguita per raggiungere una presunta infinita crescita economica che di fatto conviene solo agli imprenditori. Ai miliardari.

#theendiscoming
#greenwashing
#autoelettriche
#tesla
#teslaprotests
#inquinamento
#riscaldamento_globale
#capitalismo

Il capitale nell'antropocene - Saiitō Kōhei
L'illusione che il capitalismo possa risolvere l'imminente disastro climatico. E anche la distruzione della terra, perseguita per raggiungere una presunta infinita crescita economica che di fatto conviene solo agli imprenditori. Ai miliardari.

#theendiscoming
#greenwashing
#autoelettriche
#tesla
#teslaprotests
#inquinamento
#riscaldamento_globale
#capitalismo

How Brands Exploit “Green” Certification

Brands and businesses may be tempted to exploit “green” certifications to garner a larger market share at the expense of integrity.

Around 400 #ecolabels 🏆 claim to provide #consumers with choice ⁉️ Yet they’re unreliable in holding #corporates to account for widespread #deforestation and #humanrights abuses and #greenwashing #Boycottpalmoil 🌴🪔🔥 ⛔️#Boycott4Wildlife @palmoildetect https://wp.me/pcFhgU-8Y6

#Brands and giants of #FMCG may be tempted to exploit “green” certifications like #FSC, MSC and #RSPO to reassure consumers. Yet ecolabels have deep flaws in enforcement of standards. #ecocide #greenwashing #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife @palmoildetect https://wp.me/pcFhgU-8Y6

Written by Dr Arne Nygaard, professor at the School of Communication, Leadership and Marketing at Kristiania University College, Norway. His primary research interests include sustainable supply chains, greenwashing, geopolitical risk and strategic uncertainty, economic contracts and incentives, sustainability and green marketing, technology, and entrepreneurship. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™, read the original.

Analyses conducted in the study indicate that while certifications can help prevent greenwashing, they can also contribute to eco-opportunism […] the theory of eco-opportunism warns that this can lead to free riding and greenwashing, where products are falsely advertised as sustainable but fail to meet certified standards.

Nygaard, A. (2023). Is sustainable certification’s ability to combat greenwashing trustworthy? Frontiers in Sustainability, 4, Article 1188069. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1188069

As the global fight against climate change intensifies, certifications have become crucial tools for industries to address environmental, business and social challenges. Sustainability certifications promote eco-friendly practices, protect human rights and boost the credibility of environmentally responsible brands.

But although certifications often enhance the perceived value of sustainable products and services, challenges remain.

There are concerns about greenwashing and free riding plus the inability of certification systems to adapt to changes and failing to incentivise the adoption of newer, more sustainable technologies.

At the supermarket, a shopper carefully studies a label, thinking, “This product has a certification. Must be environmentally friendly. I’ll buy it.” And like that shopper, millions around the world make that same decision every day.

Greenwashing, where companies falsely claim eco-friendly credentials without meeting required standards, is a significant issue. Similarly, free riding allows businesses to benefit from the positive image of certifications without genuinely implementing sustainable practices.

The number of sustainability certifications has surged globally in recent years. The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) reports that more than 400 certifications now cover sectors such as food, agriculture, energy, environment, health and social responsibility.

Consumer awareness

This growth reflects increasing consumer awareness of sustainability and the desire of companies to showcase their commitment to eco-friendly practices.

Certifications serve as essential market signals, enabling businesses to distinguish themselves by adhering to recognised environmental and social standards.

Some of the internationally recognised certifications include the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for green buildings, the Forest Stewardship Council for sustainable forestry and the Fair Trade certification, which ensures that products meet strict social, environmental and labour criteria.

Another key example is the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil certification, which promotes the production of palm oil in a way that minimises environmental harm, protects biodiversity and ensures fair treatment of workers and local communities.

Certifications typically involve third-party evaluations to assess compliance with criteria such as environmental and economic impact or fair labour practices.

Despite widespread adoption, certifications face growing scrutiny.

For instance, consumer demand for eco-friendly products has led to companies charging higher prices for green products. While many consumers are willing to pay this premium, it can create perverse incentives for companies to engage in greenwashing.

Certifications, intended to assure consumers of a product’s environmental and social standards, can paradoxically encourage companies to exploit these authentications for profit.

When businesses realise they can charge a premium for eco-labelled goods, the temptation to stretch the truth or manipulate the certification increases.

Erosion of trust

Greenwashing erodes consumer trust and devalues the certifications of genuinely sustainable products.

As more companies exploit these eco-friendly claims without verification, it becomes harder for consumers to differentiate between authentic and deceptive environmental practices, potentially undermining the credibility of certification systems.

This highlights the urgent need for stronger mechanisms to mitigate these risks, ensuring that certification systems are not only effective but also resilient against exploitation.

Certification bodies can tighten standards, increase transparency and implement stronger verification processes to reflect evolving sustainability standards and prevent misuse. Additionally, independent audits and greater rigour throughout the supply chain would hold companies accountable for their claims.

Investigation into the root causes of greenwashing is necessary to understand how and why companies manipulate sustainable claims.

One key issue is that certification processes often focus on specific criteria and may not capture the broader environmental or social impacts of a product.

Selective compliance

A company may meet the minimum requirements for certification in one area, such as reducing carbon emissions, while ignoring other important sustainability factors such as labour conditions or biodiversity conservation.

This selective compliance allows companies to appear more sustainable than they truly are, feeding into the cycle of greenwashing.

Consumers can be educated on how to critically evaluate certification labels to avoid falling prey to greenwashing tactics.

By reinforcing certification systems with robust monitoring and compliance mechanisms, the credibility of sustainable products can be preserved, and the integrity of genuine sustainability efforts can be upheld.

Non-governmental organisations and activist groups play a critical role in developing and implementing certification systems. These organisations provide valuable input during the creation of sustainability standards and help monitor compliance, ensuring that certification systems remain credible.

For example, the Forest Stewardship Council certification system for responsible forestry was developed in 1993 with input from environmental NGOs such as Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund.

NGOs advocate for higher sustainability standards, while certifications give them leverage to hold businesses accountable. By working together, NGOs and certification bodies can drive meaningful change toward a more sustainable future.

The interaction between state institutions, laws, and certification systems is also vital to ensuring the credibility and effectiveness of sustainability efforts.

Governments often set baseline sustainability requirements, while certification systems provide an additional layer of accountability. A clear example is the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil certification now used in 21 countries.

Resistance to change

One challenge facing certification bodies is internal structural inertia. This refers to resistance to change, preventing the adoption of innovative green technologies.

This occurs when certification bodies become too rigid in their processes, policies, or standards, making it difficult for them to quickly adapt to new environmental paradigms.

For example, the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design initially focused on energy efficiency in buildings but was slow to incorporate newer technologies like green roofs or biophilic design which enhance sustainability.

Similarly, in the agricultural sector, government certification systems such as the United States Department of Agriculture Organic can be slow to recognise advancements in vertical farming or aeroponics, even though these methods significantly reduce land use, water consumption, and pesticide reliance.

This type of institutional resistance can delay the transition to more sustainable practices, as certification bodies may cling to outdated standards that fail to incentivise the latest green technologies.

To stay relevant and support ongoing environmental progress, certification organisations can work to overcome structural inertia and actively seek ways to update their standards in response to new innovations.

By updating their standards to reflect these disruptive technologies, certification systems can stay relevant and effective, driving sustainability across industries and supporting innovation while addressing evolving environmental challenges.

However, certifications, while essential tools for promoting sustainable practices, face limitations. Greenwashing, free-riding, and institutional inertia can undermine their value, posing challenges for businesses and consumers alike.

As markets evolve, certifications risk becoming obsolete unless they adapt to new environmental and technological challenges.

Nygaard, A. (2023). Is sustainable certification’s ability to combat greenwashing trustworthy? Frontiers in Sustainability, 4, Article 1188069. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1188069

Dr Arne Nygaard is a professor at the School of Communication, Leadership and Marketing at Kristiania University College, Norway. His primary research interests include sustainable supply chains, greenwashing, geopolitical risk and strategic uncertainty, economic contracts and incentives, sustainability and green marketing, technology, and entrepreneurship. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™, read the original.

ENDS

Read more about greenwashing associated with certified “sustainable” palm oil and other commodities

So-called ‘Net Zero’ Flights Flush Rainforest Carbon Into the Sky

Virgin Atlantic airlines now uses ‘sustainable aviation fuel’ however experts call it greenwashing and industry spin causing climate change. Boycott palm oil!

Oreo Maker Linked to Ongoing Deforestation and Human Rights Abuses

Mondelēz International who make Oreos keep sourcing palm oil from suppliers linked to violence and deforestation. Their RSPO certification is pure greenwash!

Jaguars vs Cows: JBS Fuelling Biodiversity Collapse in Brazil’s Forests

Global Witness report finds JBS, the world’s largest meat company, is directly linked to deforestation in the Amazon and Pantanal putting jaguars at risk

Parrot Deaths Highlight Urgent Need to Reform CITES

The legal trade is largely to blame for African grey parrots becoming endangered. Regulator CITES is broken allowing exploitation, massive reform needed now!

World’s Wealthiest Drive Two Thirds of Global Warming Since 1990

Wealthiest people in USA and China responsible for 2/3 of global warming since 1990. Climate policies needed to target the richest people on the planet now!

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2. Contribute stories: Academics, conservationists, scientists, indigenous rights advocates and animal rights advocates working to expose the corruption of the palm oil industry or to save animals can contribute stories to the website.

Wildlife Artist Juanchi Pérez

Mel Lumby: Dedicated Devotee to Borneo’s Living Beings

Anthropologist and Author Dr Sophie Chao

Health Physician Dr Evan Allen

The World’s Most Loved Cup: A Social, Ethical & Environmental History of Coffee by Aviary Doert

How do we stop the world’s ecosystems from going into a death spiral? A #SteadyState Economy

3. Supermarket sleuthing: Next time you’re in the supermarket, take photos of products containing palm oil. Share these to social media along with the hashtags to call out the greenwashing and ecocide of the brands who use palm oil. You can also take photos of palm oil free products and congratulate brands when they go palm oil free.

https://twitter.com/CuriousApe4/status/1526136783557529600?s=20

https://twitter.com/PhillDixon1/status/1749010345555788144?s=20

https://twitter.com/mugabe139/status/1678027567977078784?s=20

4. Take to the streets: Get in touch with Palm Oil Detectives to find out more.

5. Donate: Make a one-off or monthly donation to Palm Oil Detectives as a way of saying thank you and to help pay for ongoing running costs of the website and social media campaigns. Donate here

[📹️ VÍDEO NOVO 📹️] Desativação da Estação Júlio Prestes, expansão ridícula da Linha 13 e greenwashing em Alphaville | 🏷️ Etiquetas: #cptm #trem #trens #ferrovia #ferrovias #viamobilidade #l8 #centrosp #saopaulo #mobilidade #transporte #privatizacao #privataria #alphaville #santanadeparnaiba #rmsp #loteamento #greenwashing #guarulhos #aeroporto #ppp | 🔗 Assista: https://youtu.be/h9YWuG2gkx4

#MonochromeMonday

They keep killing the ancients.
Men who kill elder trees, are men who kill their children's futures.
Souls must be disconnected from nature & their spirits desperate for money, for them to be OK destroying #OldGrowth forests, for a temporary paycheque.
There are more ethical ways to earn a living.
Stop believing industrial & government #greenwashing lies.
#ClearcutLogging kills #ecosystems & throws #ecological balance out of whack.

Government tells us to not fret, that they're managing #forestry better - they're #greedy, #sellout #LIARS. You can go see for yourself, how many clearcuts are still happening on big scales, at several places across Vancouver Island & some parts of BC interior where greedy corporations are decimating the last inland #TemperateRainforest in the world. Our #neoliberal BC NDP government is OK with ongoing mass ecocide - they get money from industry lobbyists 🤑🤮😡

Don't stop, fighting to #ProtectOldGrowth #forests 🌲❤️🌲 #AncientTrees need #ForestDefenders in times of increased, rampant #CorporateGreed & sellout #ecocide enabling governments ✊️

#BCNewDeathParty #BCpoli #SaveOldGrowth #DefendNature #TreesOverGreed #TreesAreEarthsLungs #Nature #ProtectNature #WildFirst #BCForestryReform #deforestation #StopEcocide #StopClearcuts #photography #BanCorporateLobbyists #DavidEby #BCNDP #EbyTheEnabler #ProtectForests #BCTourism #VancouverIsland #Cowichan #VanIsle #PacificNorthwest #Cascadia #PNW #BCgovernment #BCNDPLegacyoOfDeath #StopDeforestation #OneEarth #BritishColumbia #Canada #WorldInMyEyes #YYJphotographers #DisabledPhotographers #Activism #ActivistPhotography #Environmentalist #EcoJustice #FightForNature #NatureGuardians #StopTheSaws #CrimesAgainstHumanity #morose #SuperUnnaturalBC #TourismBC #TourismVanvouverIsland #EcoCrimes #monochrome #BWphotography #BWphoto

#BCNDP is still lying about this. Former #Forestry minister lied through her entire time in that portfolio. She approved more #glysophate spraying #ecocide in #BritishColumbia & told people it's safe. She agreed to help #JohnHorgan commit many #CrimesAgainstHumanity.

#BCgovernment is still #greenwashing & #whitewashing on #deforestation of #OldGrowth & #logging clearcuts are still happening.

#VoteBCGreens #BCNDPisKillingUs #BCpoli #EbyIsANeoliberal #Corruption #Neoliberals #BCNDPcriminals

This #earthDay, #cbc news is running at least 3 articles about #plastics, #plasticWaste and accountability for plastics production... yet not one of them mentions the fact that PLASTIC RECYCLING IS A SCAM, and that plastics recycling in #canada and abroad are #greenwashing #moneyLaundering schemes for large plastics-producing companies like #pepsi, #cocacola, #procterAndGamble and so on.

Even the article about the reusable grocery bag switch-a-roo misses how much of a con that was. Make plastic bags illegal, and replace them with PLASTIC BAGS that are just as much plastic, only now they charge you for them.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/climate/plastics-canada-registry-1.7181037

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/reusable-bags-grocers-walmart-1.7178439

https://www.cbc.ca/news/climate/plastic-waste-negotiations-1.7179103

Check out the board of directors of one of the largest community recycling programs in the country:

https://www.circularmaterials.ca/board/

Ask them what they do with all that plastic. Go ahead - I'll wait.

Breathtaking #hypocrisy from this #AtlanticCouncil think-tankie whose country has been arming/abetting the colonial massacre in #Gaza from the get-go and who has written exactly *nothing* about its devastating ecocidal imprint.

Not sure which is more risible and perverse: Paul Mason's prolo-washing Anglo-American imperial bullying of #Yemen as solidarity with "the seafaring working class" or this #greenwashing version of Exterminate All the Brutes.

https://archive.ph/a8kdJ
@palestine

Dabei ist seit über 50 Jahren bekannt, dass wir weg von dreckiger, fossiler Energie müssen. Gerade Konzerne wie #ExxonMobil, #BP, #Total leugneten den #Klimawandel, spielten ihn herunter (und tun es zum Teil noch heute), obwohl sie selbst schon sehr genau davon wussten.

Grafik: https://www.ren21.net/reports/global-status-report/
Lesenswert!

#Greenwashing #Shell #TotalEnergies #Exxon #Eni #Equinor #Chevron #Esso #OMV #Aral #DWS #DeutscheBank #Green #KlimaMemes #Ölkonzern #Ölkonzerne

Battle of #LithiumMining at #Paiute Massacre Site Links Struggles Against #Greenwashing Around the World

By Brenda Norrell, #CensoredNews
December 6, 2023

"The struggle to protect #PeeheeMuhuh, #ThackerPass, from lithium mine links the #global struggles of uncontacted #Indonesians battling #nickel mining, child slaves in #Congo's #cobalt mines, and the peoples' battles against lithium mining in #Serbia and #Argentina. They are all battling the greenwashing of the false solution of #electricvehicles for #ClimateChange.

"The desecration of the sacred Paiute Massacre site by #LithiumAmericas of Canada is proceeding because federal laws do not protect massacre sites. Further, a man camp of lithium miners threatens the rural communities of #FortMcDermitt Paiute #Shoshone Nation, and the town of #Winnemucca with crime, specifically sex trafficking.

"Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, #RenoSparks Indian Colony Chairman Arlan Melendez called for a new mobilization of #PeacefulProtests that will bring awareness to the public about the ongoing desecration to the sacred place and the damage to the #environment. He called for support from #SouthDakota and elsewhere to bring this desecration to the forefront.

"'We lost the lawsuit because the law favors #mining, especially in this state,' Chaimrnan Melendez said.
'Without water, there is no life,' said Dean Barlese, #PyramidLakePaiute, who offered the opening traditional prayer honoring all created things, all sacred creation. 'We're teaching our young people these prayer songs.'

"'Our songs are still out there on the land.'

"Chairman Melendez said they are concerned about the crime that the mine will bring to Fort McDermitt region, in a rural area, including man camps, especially with the concern for missing and murdered women.
The lithium boom is like the gold rush, the whole state has lithium deposits, and #Nevada's 28 bands and tribes are sure to be affected. Already, sacred sites are being desecrated by lithium mining.
Chairman Melendez said the strategy is to mobilize tribes to speak with a louder voice so that the people will understand the devastation."

Read more: https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2023/12/battle-of-lithium-mining-at-paiute.html

#MMIW #EnvironmentalRacism #CorporateColonialism #WaterIsLife #Mining #OpenPitMining #StopThackerPass

PERCHÉ IL TRENO A IDROGENO PER LA VALLE CAMONICA DOVREBBE PREOCCUPARE? LA SUA “INGANNEVOLE SOSTENIBILITÀ” SPIEGATA DA DARIO BALOTTA https://www.radiondadurto.org/2023/10/05/perche-il-treno-a-idrogeno-per-la-valle-camonica-dovrebbe-preoccupare-la-sua-ingannevole-sostenibilita-spiegata-da-dario-balotta/ #trenoidrogeno #vallecamonica #greenwashing #ambiente #News

Just Released: "Mining the Sacred: #IndigenousNations Fight #Lithium Gold Rush at #ThackerPass

Watch now:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLO7ClVtlBA

"#Cree Journalist Brandi Morin said, 'We are taking back the narrative and this story about North America’s largest lithium mine being constructed while violating sacred Indigenous territories is told from the Native perspective. The 'green' energy revolution isn’t what you think it is!'

IndigiNews Media and The Real News, September 12, 2023

Go watch! @IndigiNewsMedia @TheRealNews @ricochet_en

"Follow Native journalist Brandi Morin, who came from Canada, and covered this powerful story.

"In Nevada’s remote Thacker Pass, a fight for our future is playing out between local #Indigenous tribes and powerful state and #corporate entities hellbent on mining the lithium beneath their land. Vancouver-based Lithium Americas is developing a massive lithium mine at Thacker Pass, but for more than two years several local tribes and #environmental organizations have tried to block or delay the mine in the courts and through direct action.

"The Thacker Pass Project is backed by the Biden administration, and companies like General Motors have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the project, looking to capitalize on the transition to a 'green energy economy,' for which lithium is essential. While it is a vital component in the manufacturing of electric vehicles and batteries, though, there’s nothing “green” about mining lithium. Ending our addiction to fossil fuels is urgently necessary, but the struggle of the local tribes around Thacker Pass reveals the dark side of a 'green revolution' that prioritizes profit and consumption over everything (and everyone) else."

-- Mining the Sacred

https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2023/09/just-released-mining-sacred-indigenous.html

#IndigenousNews #LithiumMining #IndigenousRights #Greenwashing #Pauite #ProtectThackerPass #EnvironmentalRacism

Just Released: "Mining the Sacred: #IndigenousNations Fight #Lithium Gold Rush at #ThackerPass

Watch now:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLO7ClVtlBA

"#Cree Journalist Brandi Morin said, 'We are taking back the narrative and this story about North America’s largest lithium mine being constructed while violating sacred Indigenous territories is told from the Native perspective. The 'green' energy revolution isn’t what you think it is!'

IndigiNews Media and The Real News, September 12, 2023

Go watch! @IndigiNewsMedia @TheRealNews @ricochet_en

"Follow Native journalist Brandi Morin, who came from Canada, and covered this powerful story.

"In Nevada’s remote Thacker Pass, a fight for our future is playing out between local #Indigenous tribes and powerful state and #corporate entities hellbent on mining the lithium beneath their land. Vancouver-based Lithium Americas is developing a massive lithium mine at Thacker Pass, but for more than two years several local tribes and #environmental organizations have tried to block or delay the mine in the courts and through direct action.

"The Thacker Pass Project is backed by the Biden administration, and companies like General Motors have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the project, looking to capitalize on the transition to a 'green energy economy,' for which lithium is essential. While it is a vital component in the manufacturing of electric vehicles and batteries, though, there’s nothing “green” about mining lithium. Ending our addiction to fossil fuels is urgently necessary, but the struggle of the local tribes around Thacker Pass reveals the dark side of a 'green revolution' that prioritizes profit and consumption over everything (and everyone) else."

-- Mining the Sacred

https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2023/09/just-released-mining-sacred-indigenous.html

#IndigenousNews #LithiumMining #IndigenousRights #Greenwashing #Pauite #ProtectThackerPass #EnvironmentalRacism

Just Released: "Mining the Sacred: #IndigenousNations Fight #Lithium Gold Rush at #ThackerPass

Watch now:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLO7ClVtlBA

"#Cree Journalist Brandi Morin said, 'We are taking back the narrative and this story about North America’s largest lithium mine being constructed while violating sacred Indigenous territories is told from the Native perspective. The 'green' energy revolution isn’t what you think it is!'

IndigiNews Media and The Real News, September 12, 2023

Go watch! @IndigiNewsMedia @TheRealNews @ricochet_en

"Follow Native journalist Brandi Morin, who came from Canada, and covered this powerful story.

"In Nevada’s remote Thacker Pass, a fight for our future is playing out between local #Indigenous tribes and powerful state and #corporate entities hellbent on mining the lithium beneath their land. Vancouver-based Lithium Americas is developing a massive lithium mine at Thacker Pass, but for more than two years several local tribes and #environmental organizations have tried to block or delay the mine in the courts and through direct action.

"The Thacker Pass Project is backed by the Biden administration, and companies like General Motors have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the project, looking to capitalize on the transition to a 'green energy economy,' for which lithium is essential. While it is a vital component in the manufacturing of electric vehicles and batteries, though, there’s nothing “green” about mining lithium. Ending our addiction to fossil fuels is urgently necessary, but the struggle of the local tribes around Thacker Pass reveals the dark side of a 'green revolution' that prioritizes profit and consumption over everything (and everyone) else."

-- Mining the Sacred

https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2023/09/just-released-mining-sacred-indigenous.html

#IndigenousNews #LithiumMining #IndigenousRights #Greenwashing #Pauite #ProtectThackerPass #EnvironmentalRacism

Just Released: "Mining the Sacred: #IndigenousNations Fight #Lithium Gold Rush at #ThackerPass

Watch now:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLO7ClVtlBA

"#Cree Journalist Brandi Morin said, 'We are taking back the narrative and this story about North America’s largest lithium mine being constructed while violating sacred Indigenous territories is told from the Native perspective. The 'green' energy revolution isn’t what you think it is!'

IndigiNews Media and The Real News, September 12, 2023

Go watch! @IndigiNewsMedia @TheRealNews @ricochet_en

"Follow Native journalist Brandi Morin, who came from Canada, and covered this powerful story.

"In Nevada’s remote Thacker Pass, a fight for our future is playing out between local #Indigenous tribes and powerful state and #corporate entities hellbent on mining the lithium beneath their land. Vancouver-based Lithium Americas is developing a massive lithium mine at Thacker Pass, but for more than two years several local tribes and #environmental organizations have tried to block or delay the mine in the courts and through direct action.

"The Thacker Pass Project is backed by the Biden administration, and companies like General Motors have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the project, looking to capitalize on the transition to a 'green energy economy,' for which lithium is essential. While it is a vital component in the manufacturing of electric vehicles and batteries, though, there’s nothing “green” about mining lithium. Ending our addiction to fossil fuels is urgently necessary, but the struggle of the local tribes around Thacker Pass reveals the dark side of a 'green revolution' that prioritizes profit and consumption over everything (and everyone) else."

-- Mining the Sacred

https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2023/09/just-released-mining-sacred-indigenous.html

#IndigenousNews #LithiumMining #IndigenousRights #Greenwashing #Pauite #ProtectThackerPass #EnvironmentalRacism

Just Released: "Mining the Sacred: #IndigenousNations Fight #Lithium Gold Rush at #ThackerPass

Watch now:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLO7ClVtlBA

"#Cree Journalist Brandi Morin said, 'We are taking back the narrative and this story about North America’s largest lithium mine being constructed while violating sacred Indigenous territories is told from the Native perspective. The 'green' energy revolution isn’t what you think it is!'

IndigiNews Media and The Real News, September 12, 2023

Go watch! @IndigiNewsMedia @TheRealNews @ricochet_en

"Follow Native journalist Brandi Morin, who came from Canada, and covered this powerful story.

"In Nevada’s remote Thacker Pass, a fight for our future is playing out between local #Indigenous tribes and powerful state and #corporate entities hellbent on mining the lithium beneath their land. Vancouver-based Lithium Americas is developing a massive lithium mine at Thacker Pass, but for more than two years several local tribes and #environmental organizations have tried to block or delay the mine in the courts and through direct action.

"The Thacker Pass Project is backed by the Biden administration, and companies like General Motors have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the project, looking to capitalize on the transition to a 'green energy economy,' for which lithium is essential. While it is a vital component in the manufacturing of electric vehicles and batteries, though, there’s nothing “green” about mining lithium. Ending our addiction to fossil fuels is urgently necessary, but the struggle of the local tribes around Thacker Pass reveals the dark side of a 'green revolution' that prioritizes profit and consumption over everything (and everyone) else."

-- Mining the Sacred

https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2023/09/just-released-mining-sacred-indigenous.html

#IndigenousNews #LithiumMining #IndigenousRights #Greenwashing #Pauite #ProtectThackerPass #EnvironmentalRacism

Oligarchs weaken Indonesia’s fight against corruption

The system is failing. #Indonesia’s own parliament, backed by big business interests, has succeeded in weakening the very system set up to fight corruption. Resist the corruption! #FightGreenwashing #Boycottpalmoil 🌴🩸⛔️ #Boycott4Wildlife

#Indonesia’s 🇮🇩 efforts to fight government #corruption 🤑👿are being thwarted by big #palmoil #timber and #mining businesses. Story: @360info_global Resist the corruption! #Boycottpalmoil 🌴🩸⛔️ #Boycott4Wildlife @palmoildetect https://palmoildetectives.com/2023/03/15/oligarchs-weaken-indonesias-fight-against-corruption/

‘Oligarchs weaken Indonesia’s fight against corruption’, written by Charles Simabura and Haykal, Universitas Andalas. Originally published on December 1, 2022 by 360info and republished here under Creative Commons licence. Read original article.

Indonesia’s efforts to fight government corruption are being corrupted from within parliament and backed by big business.

At the beginning of the 2000s, Indonesian voters said enough to corruption in politics. The Reform Order (1999) was designed to fight corruption. Then, in 2004, Indonesians elected President Yudhoyono largely on his promises to fight graft and corruption.

People demanded reform. Tools were put in place to attack the corruption endemic in public life that was holding back development.

But the system is failing. Indonesia’s own parliament, backed by big business interests, has succeeded in weakening the very system set up to fight corruption.

The tentacles of the oligarchs have wrapped themselves around the executive arm of government, where several cabinet members have considerable business interests. Indeed, 55 percent of Indonesia’s parliament members have significant business holdings.

“People demanded reform. Tools were put in place to attack the corruption that had become endemic in public life and was holding back development. But the system is failing. Indonesia’s own parliament, backed by big business interests, has succeeded in weakening the very system set up to fight corruption.” ~ Charles Simabura and Haykal, Andalas University, Indonesia.

[Image] Wilmar responsible for palm oil deforestation despite supposedly using “sustainable” palm oil.

The marriage between penguasa (the ruler) and pengusaha (business people) is getting stronger in Indonesia’s politics

The Reform Order resulted in the creation of institutions that were expected to be able to free Indonesia from corruption.  The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) had powers to investigate corruption. The Constitutional Court acted as the guardian of the constitution. The Judicial Commission was intended to ensure proper behaviour from judges. And the Ombudsman served as the ‘policeman’ of state officials. 

But these institutions have failed to meet expectations.  The fervour to fight graft that was there 20 years ago has faded.  There has even been a revenge attack by corruptors backed by the oligarchs. A 2020 survey by Transparency International Indonesia showed he Indonesian Corruption Perception Index fell from 40 to 37. 

In addition, the People’s Representative body was considered the most corrupt institution in Indonesia. The numbers show why. Between 2004 and 2020, 274 members of local and national parliament were arrested.  Many MPs consider corruption eradication as a threat. 

The efforts to undo Indonesia’s anti-corruption framework began with efforts to review the Corruption Eradication Commission Law to the Constitutional Court, where, according to data, more than 20 requests for review have been submitted. At the end of President Yudhoyono’s first term, the parliament succeeded in pushing for a revision of the law. As a result, the Corruption Eradication Commission was weakened and was listed as an institution that the public no longer trusted.

It has since become a toothless tiger. The weakening of the anti-corruption body began with its leadership. There are also questions about the recruitment of commissioners  whose commitment to eradicating corruption is problematic.

Other commissioners  have repeatedly violated the code of ethics, One chose to resign to avoid being fired. Legislation suspected of being corrupt was successfully passed because it did not receive supervision from the Corruption Eradication Commission.

“The way to stop the erosion of Indonesia’s anti-corruption efforts must come from the top. But president Joko Widodo doesn’t seem to be taking any serious steps. People will remember his legacy as ignoring the Reform Order, unless he takes radical moves before leaving office in 2024.”  

There is a pattern of laws being drafted in secret and hastily passed which do not serve the interests of the public. The Anti-corruption body Law, the Mining Law, the Omnibus Law, and the Constitutional Court Law are all examples. The result is demonstrations. Any judicial review is usually rejected by the same people who passed the laws in the first place.

Parliament’s efforts to gain control over anti-corruption institutions have become increasingly evident, especially in the process of recruiting the members of those institutions. MPs replaced one constitutional judge because he was seen to be in conflict with the parliament’s agenda after he helped cancel the promulgation of the Omnibus Law.

The way to stop the erosion of Indonesia’s anti-corruption efforts must come from the top. But president Joko Widodo doesn’t seem to be taking any serious steps. People will remember his legacy as ignoring the Reform Order, unless he takes radical moves before leaving office in 2024. 

‘Oligarchs weaken Indonesia’s fight against corruption’, written by Charles Simabura and Haykal, Universitas Andalas. Originally published on December 1, 2022 by 360info and republished here under Creative Commons licence. Read original article.

ENDS

Read more about RSPO greenwashing

Big brands using “sustainable” RSPO palm oil yet still causing deforestation (there are many others)

Nestlé

Nestlé is destroying rainforests, releasing mega-tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere, and killing hundreds of endangered species. Once these animals are gone – they are gone for good. See Nestlé’s full list of…

Read more

Colgate-Palmolive

Despite global retail giant Colgate-Palmolive forming a coalition with other brands in 2020, virtue-signalling that they will stop all deforestation, they continue to do this – destroying rainforest and releasing mega-tonnes of carbon…

Read more

Mondelēz

Despite the virtue-signalling of the palm oil certification body the RSPO, Mondelez’s so-called “sustainable” palm oil is linked to 37.000ha of palm oil deforestation since 2016 (Source: Chain Reaction Research). Mondelez destroys rainforests,…

Read more

Unilever

In 2020, global retail giant Unilever unveiled a deforestation-free supply chain promise. By 2023 they would be deforestation free. This has been and gone and they are still causing deforestation. This brand has…

Read more

Danone

Savvy consumers have been pressuring French Dairy multinational Danone for decades to cease using deforestation palm oil. Yet they actually haven’t stopped this. From their website: ‘Danone is committed to eliminating deforestation from…

Read more

PepsiCo

Despite decades of promises to end deforestation for palm oil PepsiCo (owner of crisp brands Frito-Lay, Cheetos and Doritos along with hundreds of other snack food brands) have continued sourcing palm oil that…

Read more

Procter & Gamble

Despite decades of promises to end deforestation for palm oil Procter & Gamble or (P&G as they are also known) have continued sourcing palm oil that causes ecocide, indigenous landgrabbing, and the habitat…

Read more

Kelloggs/Kellanova

In late 2023, Kelloggs became Kellanova for their US arm. Savvy consumers have been pressuring Kelloggs for decades to cease using deforestation palm oil. Yet they actually haven’t stopped this. From their website:…

Read more

Johnson & Johnson

Global mega-brand Johnson & Johnson have issued a position statement on palm oil in 2020. ‘At Johnson & Johnson, we are committed to doing our part to address the unsustainable rate of global…

Read more

PZ Cussons

PZ Cussons is a British-owned global retail giant. They own well-known supermarket brands in personal care, cleaning, household goods and toiletries categories, such as Imperial Leather, Morning Fresh, Carex, Radiant laundry powder and…

Read more

Take Action in Five Ways

1. Join the #Boycott4Wildlife on social media and subscribe to stay in the loop: Share posts from this website to your own network on Twitter, Mastadon, Instagram, Facebook and Youtube using the hashtags #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife.

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2. Contribute stories: Academics, conservationists, scientists, indigenous rights advocates and animal rights advocates working to expose the corruption of the palm oil industry or to save animals can contribute stories to the website.

Wildlife Artist Juanchi Pérez

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Mel Lumby: Dedicated Devotee to Borneo’s Living Beings

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Anthropologist and Author Dr Sophie Chao

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Health Physician Dr Evan Allen

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The World’s Most Loved Cup: A Social, Ethical & Environmental History of Coffee by Aviary Doert

Read more

How do we stop the world’s ecosystems from going into a death spiral? A #SteadyState Economy

Read more

3. Supermarket sleuthing: Next time you’re in the supermarket, take photos of products containing palm oil. Share these to social media along with the hashtags to call out the greenwashing and ecocide of the brands who use palm oil. You can also take photos of palm oil free products and congratulate brands when they go palm oil free.

https://twitter.com/CuriousApe4/status/1526136783557529600?s=20

https://twitter.com/PhillDixon1/status/1749010345555788144?s=20

https://twitter.com/mugabe139/status/1678027567977078784?s=20

4. Take to the streets: Get in touch with Palm Oil Detectives to find out more.

5. Donate: Make a one-off or monthly donation to Palm Oil Detectives as a way of saying thank you and to help pay for ongoing running costs of the website and social media campaigns. Donate here

#360infoOrg #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4wildlife #BoycottPalmOil #corruption #deforestation #Fightgreenwashing #greenwashing #HumanRights #indigenousRights #Indonesia #landRights #landgrabbing #mining #misinformation #palmOilDeforestation #palmoil #RSPO #RSPOGreenwashing #timber

The World’s Most Loved Cup: A Social, Ethical & Environmental History of Coffee by Aviary Doert

Aviary Doert holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology and they have worked for a decade in medical and laboratory science. They are an amateur conservation scientist, with experience in field work and research.  They are hoping to positively impact the environment and planet through education and increasing awareness of the consequences of people’s purchases and actions. 

A Social, #Ethical Environmental #History of #Coffee by Aviary Doert/@SnowRiver66 who demystifies the origins and impact of the world’s most loved cup of liquid motivation #Boycott4Wildlife

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Facts and history of coffee

• ‘Coffea’ is the genus name for the flowering, perennial, evergreens in the family Rubiaceae. ‘Coffea’ species are native to tropical and southern Africa and tropical Asia.
• The coffee plant was first said to have been discovered in Ethiopia (known then as Abyssinia). Coffee then made its way north, across the red sea into Yemen in the 15th Century.
• The major port used was in the city of “Mocha” – hence the term’s current association with coffee.
• Coffee cultivation and trade flourished on the Arabian Peninsula, and by the 15th century coffee was being grown in the Yemeni district of Arabia.
• By the 16th century it was known in Persia, Egypt, Syria, and Turkey. Then coffee spread East into India and Indonesia, and West into Italy (in 1570) and the rest of Europe.
• It wasn’t until 1822 that coffee production started to boom in Brazil, and in 1852 the country became the largest producer of coffee and has remained such to this day. Hawaii (not part of America until 1959) was introduced to coffee in 1817 when coffee seedlings were brought by the Brazilians. In 1825, the first official coffee orchard was born, starting Kona’s legacy in the industry.

The Plant

Coffee is a plant in the Family Rubiaceae and Genus Coffea and grows from seed – the coffee bean. These plants range from small shrubs to up to 8 metres tall depending on the species and cultivar. Of all 100 species of the genus Coffea, only a few are commercially used. Coffea arabica and C. canephora (of which the main variety is Robusta), supply almost all of the world’s cofee consumption.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Coffea_arabica_-_K%C3%B6hler%E2%80%93s_Medizinal-Pflanzen-189.jpg/800px-Coffea_arabica_-_K%C3%B6hler%E2%80%93s_Medizinal-Pflanzen-189.jpg

Arabica

Arabica makes up around 70% of all coffee consumption. The species is a 3-4 metre tall bush with dark-green oval leaves and fruits (or cherries) that take around 7 to 9 months to mature. Arabica are able to self-pollinate and are considered more mild, flavourful and aromatic brew than Robusta, and have a lower caffeine content.

Robusta

Robusta makes up the remaining 30% of the world’s coffee production. The tree can grows to 10 metres tall and its fruits take around 11 months to mature. Robusta is hardier than Arabica and can flourish in hotter, harsher conditions. Western and Central Africa, Southeast Asia, and Brazil are major producers of Robusta coffee. This coffee is cheaper to produce and has twice the caffeine content of Arabica, which makes Robusta the bean of choice for inexpensive commercial coffee brands. You will recognise its flavour as being the stronger, more bitter brew than Arabica.

Which countries drink the most coffee?

The world’s 10 top coffee importing countries by dollar value in 2020 (listed below as US dollars):

• The EU imports around 40% of the world’s coffee beans
• The United States is the world’s second-largest importer of coffee beans.

1. United States: US$5.7 billion (18.3% of total coffee imports)
2. Germany: $3.5 billion (11.4%)
3. France: $2.9 billion (9.3%)
4. Italy: $1.5 billion (4.8%)
5. Canada: $1.21 billion (3.9%)
6. Netherlands: $1.19 billion (3.8%)
7. Japan: $1.18 billion (3.8%)
8. Belgium: $1.13 billion (3.6%)
9. Spain: $1.01 billion (3.3%)
10. United Kingdom: $1 billion (3.2%)

The world’s most caffeinated people

10 biggest coffee drinking countries in pounds/kilograms per capita (person) per year in 2020:
Finland – 12.02kg (26.5 lbs)
Norway – 9.89kg (21.8 lbs)
Iceland – 8.98kg (19.8 lbs)
Denmark – 8.70kg (19.18 lbs)
Netherlands – 8.39kg (18.5 lbs)
Sweden – 8.16kg (18 lbs)
Switzerland – 7.89kg (17.4 lbs)
Belgium – 6.76kg (14.9 lbs)
Luxembourg – 6.35kg (14 lbs)
Canada – 6.21kg (13.7 lbs)

Where is coffee grown?

More than 70 countries produce coffee, but the majority of global output – 74.3% – comes from just the top five producers: Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia, Indonesia, and Ethiopia.

Statistical data from 2020:

1. Brazil – 3,804,000 metric tonnes (produces a third of the world’s coffee)
2. Vietnam – 1,740,000 metric tonnes
3. Colombia – 858,000 metric tonnes
4. Indonesia – 720,000 metric tonnes
5. Ethiopia – 438,000 metric tonnes
6. Honduras – 366,000 metric tonnes
7. India – 342,000 metric tonnes
8. Uganda – 336,000 metric tonnes
9. Mexico – 240,000 metric tonnes
10. Peru – 228,000 metric tonnes

Deforestation

Global forest loss is a huge problem around the world. An estimated 15 billion trees are cut down every year.

Nearly all – 95% – of this deforestation occurs in the tropics. 14% of deforestation is driven by consumers in the world’s richest countries – importing beef, vegetable oils, cocoa, coffee and paper that has been produced on deforested land. In 2019, 12.2 million hectares of tropical forests were lost.

Although the precise area is debated, each day at least 80,000 acres (32,300 ha) of forest disappear from Earth. At least another 80,000 acres (32,300 ha) of forest are degraded.

Forest loss in the Amazon jungle: the lungs of the planet

Tropical forests presently cover about 1.84 billion hectares or about 12% of Earth’s land surface (3.6% of Earth’s surface).

Why are forests lost?

• Commodity-driven deforestation: The long-term, permanent conversion of forests to other land uses, typically agriculture (including coffee plantations, oil palm and cattle ranching), mining, or energy infrastructure.
• Urbanisation: The long-term, permanent conversion of forests to towns, cities, roads and infrastructure.
• Shifting agriculture: Small to mid-scale conversion of forest for farming, that is later abandoned so that forests regrow.
• Forestry production: for timber, paper and pulp.
• Wildfires: Short term disturbances to forests that are likely to regrow.

95% of the world’s deforestation occurs in the tropics

In Latin America and Southeast Asia in particular, commodity-driven deforestation – mainly the clearance of forests to grow crops and pasture for beef production – accounts for almost two-thirds of forest loss.

Coffee deforestation

The equatorial area between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer is ideal for growing coffee and is known as the “coffee bean belt”. All coffee-growing countries are very rich with biodiversity (rare and endemic plant and animal species).

Globally, coffee production increased by 24% between 2010 and 2018

This equates to around 2 million metric tons that is primarily destined for developed nations such as the UK (3%), the USA (16%), and the EU (44%). Asia is also a growing market. The demand for coffee is expected to grow between 50%-163% by 2050.

Coffee plantations, especially those using the sun-grown mass production method, have caused massive deforestation.

2.5 million acres of forest in Central America alone have been cleared so far for coffee plantations. Brazil has been the world’s largest producer of coffee for the last 150 years.

Over two million hectares of Brazilian land are currently dedicated to coffee, producing an average of 43 million bags of coffee a year.

In Vietnam, coffee is a growing industry The coffee growing area of Vietnam is at least 600,000 hectares. According to data from Global Forest Watch, Indonesia lost 9.75 million hectares of primary forest between 2002 and 2020. In 2016, a record 929,000 hectares of forest disappeared; by 2020, the annual loss decreased to 270,000 hectares.

Seven out of ten coffee-producing countries have some of the world’s highest rates of primary forest loss

This is occuring in tropical countries: Brazil, Indonesia, Peru, Colombia, India, Mexico and Vietnam.

Coffee plantations cause massive deforestation as the world’s demand for it has increased exponentially over the past few decades. 37 of the 50 countries in the world with the highest deforestation rates are also coffee producers.

Aside from coffee tropical countries clear forests and habitats for soy (for cow feed), cattle ranching, palm oil & coconut oil plantations and mining, to name a few.

Coffee deforestation and species loss

Tropical rainforests are incredibly rich ecosystems that play a fundamental role in the basic functioning of the planet.

• Around 50% of the world’s terrestrial species live in rainforests: Our planet is losing untold numbers of species to extinction, the vast majority of which have never been documented by science.
• Rainforests maintain the climate: By regulating atmospheric gases and stabilizing rainfall, protect against desertification, and provide numerous other ecological functions.

Species richness is lower in most coffee agroecosystems than in natural forests

Many research studies of mammals, insects and birds have shown these species are greatly reduced on coffee plantations. There are three kinds of coffee cultivation practices:

• Fully rustic coffee: where coffee plants are grown interspersed with forest trees and understory – has the least impact non biodiversity.
• Shade-grown monoculture: is a slightly more intensive technique, farming larger densities of coffee plants underneath the forest canopy. This impacts biodiversity more than rustic coffee.
• Sun-grown coffee: Involves the clearance of the forest, removing epiphytic plants from the coffee trees, and applying chemical fertilizers. This has the greatest negative impact on biodiversity.

https://rootcapital.org/shade-grown-coffee-whats-the-big-deal/

Across studies, mammal, bird and insect biodiversity declined in coffee plantations. The richness of migratory and foraging bird species was less affected by coffee production than that of resident, canopy and understory bird species. Loss of species also depended greatly on habitat specialisation and functional traits.

Endangered species impacted by coffee production in South America

The Scarlet Tanager, Gray Catbird, Eastern Wood Pewee, Wood Thrush Canada Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, Olive-sided Flycatcher and the near-threatened Golden-winged Warbler. These bird species are being affected by loss of both breeding and wintering grounds.

Research specifically on other species affected by coffee plantations, such as mammals, is less available. One can extrapolate and hypothesize, however, that the loss and degradation of habitat affects all species living there.

Coffee: Agriculture and Animal Exploitation

Certain coffee trends are associated with animal exploitation. This stems from the practice of feeding coffee beans to certain animals and then using the excreted beans for consumption.

“Civet coffee” or Kopi luwak

This involves the Asian palm civet, a small mammal found in the jungles of Asia. The Indonesian coffee is produced by feeding coffee beans to the civet and using the excreted beans. Producers claim the civet’s digestion process improves the beans’ flavor. It is the most expensive coffee in the world, selling for hundreds of dollars per pound. A single cup can cost up to US$80.00.

Asian Palm Civets – Wild and Caged

The popularity of so-called “civet coffee” has led to intensive farming of the animals, who are confined in cages and force-fed the beans.

Sign the petition to end civet coffee farming

sk the Indonesian government to place regulations on the treatment of wild Asian palm civets and ban the inhumane production of civet coffee!

The very popular and expensive Indonesian civet coffee is still being produced despite proof of inhumane conditions.

In order to harvest the coffee, farmers feed seeds of coffee berries to imprisoned Asian palm civets, a beautiful wild cat-like mammal, and gather the seeds again from their excrement. The civets are captured from the wild, torn from their families, held in tiny, sometimes dark, cages, and are often force-fed the berries. There are currently no regulations in place on how to treat these animals, and farmers will often feed them to death with no concern for their health or living conditions.

Demand that the Indonesian government acknowledge this catastrophe and vow to end the cruel production of civet coffee!

It has been documented that many of the civets in the coffee industry have no access to clean drinking water, no ability to interact with other civets, and live in urine- and feces-soaked cages. Many are forced to stand, sleep, and sit on wire floors, which causes sores and abrasions. Some civets also exhibit signs of zoochosis, “a neurotic condition among stressed animals in captivity. The signs include constant spinning, pacing and bobbing their heads.”

Black Ivory Coffee: Elephant exploitation for coffee

A similar process is used in the nascent practice of feeding coffee beans to elephants. Sadly, it’s being carried out at a “sanctuary” in Thailand, where around 30 elephants consume beans from nearby plantations. Branded as Black Ivory Coffee, this expensive brew (about US$50 per serving) doesn’t yet have the popularity of civet coffee, and producers argue the animals are in no way harmed, but it points to a disturbing trend in animal exploitation.

Coffee: Human Rights and Labour Abuses

As with many other industries in the developing world, there are rampant human rights abuses associated with coffee cultivation and production.

The coffee business is tied to a long history of colonialism and slavery.

Low Wages, Abusive Conditions and Child Slavery

Many times farmers and workers in the coffee industry are paid poverty wages, with the profits going to those higher up in the corporate hierarchy.

Coffee farmers typically earn only 7–10% of the retail price of coffee, while in Brazil, workers earn less than 2% of the retail price. To earn enough to survive, many parents pull their children from school to work on the coffee plantations. Child slavery is widespread in coffee cultivation. When the price of coffee rises, the incentive for struggling families to withdraw their children from school and send them to work increases; at the same time, a fall in coffee prices increases poverty in regions that depend on the crop, which can also prevent children from attending school.

Conditions on the farms are quite different from what is promised. Few of the lodgings had running water and in some cases, there were not even any beds or toilets. In their testimonies, workers describe conditions as like ‘living in a corral’, with poor sanitation, in precarious structures that were not enough to meet even the most basic needs for dignified survival.

A cycle of poverty

Since higher levels of education are tied to higher income over the long term, and children from poor families are those most likely to be sent to work rather than school, child labor maintains a cycle of poverty over generations.

A study in Brazil found that child labour rates were approximately 37% higher, and school enrollment 3% lower, than average in regions where coffee is produced.

Children as young as six years old often work eight to 10 hours a day and are exposed to the many health and safety hazards of coffee harvesting and processing, from dangerous levels of sun exposure and injuries, to poisoning from contact with agrochemicals.

‘Slave labour on coffee farms denounced at the OECD’, Connectas Human Rights

During the coffee-harvesting season in Honduras, up to 40% of the workers are children. Children, and women, are hired as temporary workers and are therefore paid even less than adult male workers. In Kenya, for instance, these “casual” workers often only make about $12.00 a month. Even though there are family farms where children might participate in light labor for part of the day, regulations against child labor do exist in coffee-producing countries, but economic pressures make authorities in these regions reluctant to enforce the law.

“We went hungry, because they didn’t pay and they didn’t register us either. So we were stuck there. If those people hadn’t got us out we would have stayed there for ages.”

‘Slave labour on coffee farms denounced at the OECD’, Connectas Human Rights

Exposure to pesticides, pollution and chemicals

Additionally, in areas with sun-grown coffee, more chemical fertilisers, agricultural chemicals, and fungicides are required. Given the levels of poverty in the areas where coffee is grown, workers are often unable to afford protective equipment that would limit their exposure; in other cases, they simply choose not to use it or are not aware that it is necessary. Many workers complain of difficulty breathing, skin rashes, and birth defects.

Indentured slavery

Many coffee workers are effectively enslaved through debt peonage, which is forced labor to repay debts. Landed elite in coffee-producing regions own large plantations where a permanent workforce is employed.

The workers are forced to buy from a plantation shop for their everyday needs that has over-inflated prices. Since they earn less than minimum wage, they become indebted to their employers. It is common for families who are part of the permanent labor force on a plantation to work and live there for generations, in order to pay back debts for renting their homes, land or health costs. In Brazil, hundreds of workers are rescued from slave-like conditions annually.

https://old.danwatch.dk/en/undersogelseskapitel/brazilian-coffee-is-sprayed/

http://old.danwatch.dk/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Elisabete-Vitor-da-Costa-pesticider.mp4

Coffee brands and slave labour for coffee

In 2016, two of the world’s largest coffee companies (accounting for 39% of the global coffee market), Nestlé and Jacobs Douwe Egberts, acknowledged that slave labor is a risk in their Brazilian supply of coffee. Nestlé admitted they purchase coffee from two plantations with known forced labor and they cannot “fully guarantee that it has completely removed forced labour practices or human rights abuses” from their supply chain.

Coffee: Environmental Certifications

There are a number of coffee certification schemes that encourage environmental farming practices and inform consumers about which companies and brands follow these practices.

Often the concept is very good. However the real life implementation and enforcement of the standard is severely lacking.

Research finds that certification schemes are merely greenwashing tools – they do not improve equity outcomes or prevent deforestation

It should be noted that many NGOs that work to analyse certification schemes such as Greenpeace, ECCHR Berlin and the Environmental Investigation Agency have found that certification standards are overall insufficient, weak and merely a consumer marketing tool rather than a tool for ameliorating human rights abuses or stopping deforestation.

Eco-labels and certifications for agricultural crops have yet to halt land use change. Sparse and uneven market uptake only partially explain this outcome. Loopholes in certification standards and enforcement mechanisms also play a role.

Do eco-labels prevent deforestation? Lessons from non-state market driven governance in the soy, palm oil, and cocoa sectors., (2018) van der Ven, H., Rothacker, C. & Cashore, B. Glob. Environ. Change 52, 141–151.

We find that, while sustainability standards can help improve the sustainability of production processes in certain situations, they are insufficient to ensure food system sustainability at scale, nor do they advance equity objectives in agrifood supply chains.

Sustainability standards in global agrifood supply chains., (2021) Meemken, EM., Barrett, C.B., Michelson, H.C. et al. Nat Food. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00360-3

Instead of guaranteeing that deforestation and other harms are excluded from supply chains, certification with inadequate governance, standards and/or enforcement enables destructive businesses to continue operating as usual.

More broadly, by improving the image of forest and ecosystem risk commodities and so stimulating demand, certification risks actually increasing the harm caused by the expansion of commodity production.

Instead of being an effective forest protection tool, certification schemes thus end up greenwashing products linked to deforestation, ecosystem destruction and rights abuses.

Destruction Certified, Greenpeace 2021.

Smithsonian Bird-Friendly

Developed by ecologists at the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center; has the strictest habitat requirements of any coffee certification.

Goals

• Preserve critical habitat for birds and wildlife.
• Fight climate change.
• Protect biodiversity.
• Support farmers committed to conserving bird and wildlife habitat by farming sustainably.

Overview

• 100% organic: no use of chemical pesticides.
• Shade-grown coffee
• requires much of the natural forest canopy to remain intact through a combination of foliage cover, tree heights and overall biodiversity that protects high quality habitat for birds and other wildlife.
• Must maintain at least 15% of the native vegetation or a minimum canopy cover of 40% measured before pruning and during the rainy season when foliage is denser, and a minimum of 12 native species as shade in the coffee plantations, as well as comply with several infrastructural and management requirements.
• Certification requires 100% of product to meet standards (other certifications allow a portion of non-certified product or permit product dilution).
• Producers can earn more for their crops due to the gourmet market price premiums, and the timber and fruit trees on shade coffee farms provide farmers with additional income.
• Farms are certified by third-party inspectors using criteria established by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center. The Center states that the criteria are based on years of research and are scientifically proven to provide bird habitat second only to undisturbed forest.
• farms must submit to re-certification every three years – roasters pay a small fee to be able to use the seal on their products.
• There are currently at least 5,100 Bird Friendly farmers in 11 countries growing 34 million pounds of coffee annually.

Problems

While the Bird-Friendly seal has farmers’ and community rights written into its overall goals, it is unclear if there are any defined and enforceable standards.

Fair Trade

Goals

• To guarantee that workers are paid living wages and have safe working conditions.
• To improve the lives of farmers and smallholders in developing countries who frequently lack alternative sources of income by promoting positive and long-term change through trade-based relationships that build self-sufficiency.

Overview

• Fair Trade pays producers an above-market “fair trade” price provided they meet specific labor, environmental, and production standards.
• The standard encompasses a wide variety of agricultural and handcrafted goods, including baskets, clothing, cotton, home and kitchen decor, jewellery, rice, soap, tea, toys, and wine.
• Fair Trade handcrafts have been sold since 1946. The first agricultural product to be certified fair trade, coffee, was in 1988.
• In 2021, FT worked with than 975,000 farmers and workers in 62 countries across Africa, Asia, Oceania, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

Standards

• Fair Trade requires producing organisations to comply with a set of minimum standards designed to support the sustainable development of small-scale producers and agricultural workers in the poorest countries in the world.
• These standards detail member farm size, electoral processes and democratic organization, contractual transparency and reporting, environmental standards etc.
• Fair Trade members buy products directly from producers and provide advance payment or pre-harvest financing. Unlike many commercial importers who often wait 60-90 days before paying producers, FTF members ensure pre-payment so that producers have sufficient funds to cover raw materials and basic needs during production.
• Fair Trade members also provide technical assistance and support such as market information, organizational development and training in financial management.
• Unlike conventional importers, FTF members establish long term relationships with their producers and help them adapt production to changing trends.
• Workers benefit from 100+ protections and quality of life assurances and receive regular training around health, safety and quality assurance.

Problems

The higher consumer price for Fair Trade coffee does not result in increased wages for farmers.

The quality of Fair Trade coffee is uneven.

Cost of Fair Trade certification: This costs coffee growers approximately $0.03 per pound of coffee. This doesn’t sound like much, but in some years it is greater than any smallholder/farmer profit from the sale of the coffee.

Fair trade certification does not bring economic benefits and equity to labourers and their children: A Harvard University study found the modest benefits generated from Fair Trade to be concentrated among the most skilled coffee growers. They find no positive impact on coffee laborers, no positive impact on children’s education, and negative impacts on the education of unskilled coffee workers’ children.

Poorer countries are not able to mobilise certification: Relatively little Fair Trade coffee originates from the poorest countries, like Ethiopia, and Tanzania.

Higher price for Fair Trade does not translate to higher quality coffee: This risks turning consumers away from FT produce, and further impeding its reach to mass markets, where it can truly make an important change to consumer habits.

Higher cost for Fair Trade means a lack of consumer access: The price premium on Fair Trade may make it prohibitively expensive for lower-income households to afford. This means that Fair Trade does not reach the mass market and instead remains as a token marketing gesture that helps to alleviate the guilt of middle class consumers.

Fair Trade engages with companies that are unethical:

Much like with the RSPO for palm oil, the Fair Trade certification does not guarantee that producer organizations will be able to sell all their certified goods under agreed conditions. There is a lack of transparency.

One primary factor is that it is large cooperatives that control the Fair Trade premium, rather than the farmers themselves. This means that rather than cutting out the middle man, and offering farmers a more direct compensation for their work, Fair Trade still facilitates a level of bureaucracy that supports an uneven distribution of revenue.

Rainforest Alliance

Goals

• Wildlife protection
• Climate-smart agriculture
• Fair treatment and good working conditions for workers

Overview

• Not required to be organic, but must implement the integrated pest management procedures, which have chemical pesticides only as a last resort and used in targeted, conscious methods.
• Promotes best practices for protecting standing forests, preventing the expansion of cropland into forests; fostering the health of trees, soils, and waterways; and protecting native forests.
• Promote responsible land management methods that increase carbon storage while avoiding deforestation.
• The 2020 programme prohibits deforestation and destruction of natural ecosystems such as wetlands and peatlands and sets 2014 as the baseline year for the conversion of natural ecosystem.
• Advances the rights of rural people.
• Certified farms and supply chain actors must have a system to evaluate and address child labour, forced labour, discrimination and workplace violence and harassment.
• Products do not have to contain 100% of ingredients meeting the standards in order to use the seal. **For the 2020 seal, all products – except herbal teas and palm oil – must contain at least 90% of the certified ingredient. Herbal teas must contain at least 40% of the certified ingredient(s) and palm oil products must contain at least 30% certified palm oil. Products that contain between 30 and 90 percent certified content can bear the seal with a qualifying statement that discloses the percentage of certified content.
• Farms are audited every 3 years.

Problems

A weak due diligence approach: With the newest 2020 criteria, Rainforest Alliance takes a ‘due diligence’ rather than prohibition approach. This approach means that absolutely nothing will be outlawed under the new criteria. Even a company found to use violence against forced laborers could continue to bear the logo if it had the right processes in place.

A “due diligence” approach has had success in specific cases. For example, it has helped address the problem of child labour in the cocoa industry, which is almost entirely made up of smallholders.

However now Rainforest Alliance is using this approach to address four of the most difficult areas – child labour, forced labour, discrimination and (sexual) harassment – without providing any evidence for its success in addressing the last three of these issues. Red lines can still be maintained even if a due diligence framework is adopted, but the RA have not explained why they have shunned this option even as a last resort.

Price volatility: failure to protect workers and farms from the volatility of prices on international markets. While Rainforest Alliance says that it is considering the issue, it has no plans to address the problem of price volatility through its certification.

2020 Weak Deforestation criteria: The new certification contains some requirements to protect forest areas, yet, it has no definition of what ‘forest’ means, without which the criteria are largely unenforceable.

It also conflates ‘forests’ and ‘other natural ecosystems’ in several of the new criteria, which is vague.

2020 workers rights criteria: These requirements are weaker or more vague than previous requirements. Including those on overtime, payment in kind, maternity leave, and preference for organic fertilisers

2020 child labor criteria: RA’s definition of child labour allows work from 14 years of age and light work from 12 years where these ages are set by the country’s national laws. It therefore sets a lower standard than the International Labour Organization’s (ILO’s), which only allows these ages where developing country exemptions apply.

Vital information missing: including how RA intends to enforce its standards, how it will determine timeframes for improvement criteria, what the rules will be about the use of its logo on products, or how it plans to conduct audits.

Recommendation: Cut coffee consumption as much as possible

Coffee production has detrimental impacts on forests, habitats, species biodiversity, greenhouse gas emissions and laborers.

Increasing demand for the product is fueling all of these crises. In order to alleviate this pressure, there must be an immense decrease in demand for coffee worldwide.

Consumers should choose to not purchase or to severely decrease their purchases of coffee and coffee-derived products.

If a person does want to purchase some coffee, it would seem most environmental and ethical to find a company that deals only with small-scale farmers, with whom they have a personal relationship, and avoid the huge, international corporations.

After investigation, it appears that the Smithsonian Bird-Friendly certification does a good job of protecting native forest and wildlife; however, it does not appear too guarantee workers’ rights. Consumers should also look for the FairTrade or similar certification that covers fair wages and labor practices.

It must be said, however, that neither certification is perfect. The best option would be to avoid coffee products entirely, as a consumer can never be 100% certain about the practices that took place along the entire production line.

How you can help

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Research: Boycotts Are Worthwhile and Effective

Despite sustained and vigorous attempts by corporates and industry certification schemes like RSPO, MSC and FSC to downplay the impact and effectiveness of consumer boycotts, it turns out that boycotts are impactful and drive social change. They force profit-first and greedy corporations to change their ways and do better. They also create a tangible sense…

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Greenwashing Tactic #4: Fake Labels

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    https://doi.org/10.5751/ACE-01223-130119

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#BoycottCoffee #brandCertification #childSlavery #coffee #coffeeCertification #deforestation #economics #Ethical #FairTrade #greenwashing #history #humanRights #industrialAgriculture #KopiLuwak #slavery

@rose_myrtle
Without keeping direct tabs on all the bills, its difficult to judge, but lets just say whenever we looked at the state govts #planning reforms they were #antidemocratic, cronyist, #speculation feeding, confidence tricking, #greenwashing, centralising, #payForPlay-ing…

You name it. They do it.