Sustainability & Ethics with Firelight Coffee Roasters

When you talk to Ryan Harlan and Todd Johnson from Firelight Coffee Roasters, you can’t help but be inspired by their passion and love of coffee. It’s the classic and romantic tale of the coolest businesses: one person wanted something that didn’t exist so they created a solution, only to realize they have a profitable business venture on their hands!

When Todd couldn’t find the quality coffee he was looking for in Atlanta, he began experimenting with home roasting. Intrigued, his friend Ryan joined in and they began 12-hour roasting sessions on front porches every weekend. The tale of how Firelight was born: from porch roasting to wholesale! Firelight Coffee can now be found across Atlanta shops and has become a huge (sustainable) player in Atlanta’s coffee scene.

Todd and Tim Whitson (Head Roaster) joined Local Union’s moderator, Anthony Segreto, in our Sunday Coffee Service series to talk about sustainability and ethics in coffee. They cover everything from coffee labeling (what exactly does Fair Trade mean and do I need it on my label?) to the complexity of getting one coffee bean from the farm to your house.

Check out the video conversation or scroll down for written highlights.

Coffee Labeling History.

Fair Trade? Direct Trade? Why these labels are helpful and where they fall short.

With second wave coffee (think rise of Starbucks and the evolution from hot pots of coffee), questions began to arise on ethics and sustainability. Were farms being paid fairly? Were individual farmers receiving a living wage? Labels, such as Fair Trade, came about to solve problems with the quick rise of coffee demand: a Fair Trade label ensured farmers received a living wage for their production and work. 

Third wave coffee, the period we are in now with small artisanal roasters and shops, personalizes coffee supply chain and makes a stronger link between consumers and the beans origination.

Labels don’t always tell the full story. 

Many small coffee roasters adopt “fair trade practices” without the Fair Trade label.

It’s common for third wave companies to work directly with the farms and farmers to ensure high quality ethical and environmental practices, from farmer’s wages to bean production. However due to the complexity and costs to obtain a Fair Trade label, the official stamp of Fair Trade can’t always be used. Even if they meet the criteria of ethical wages, sourcing, and sustainability, they might not have the marketed and official label.

If you buy coffee from a reputable cafe or roaster, it’s likely that direct farm relationship exists and your cafe should be willing to share their insights. Todd recommends asking your coffee shop about their farm relationship and how they support their suppliers ethically and sustainably. 

Direct Trade Isn’t Really Direct.

As consumers start to care about the story of their coffee and where it comes from, direct trade helps encapsulate this story. Ten to fifteen years ago, roasters started visiting farms to taste coffee quality and ensure the entire bean journey stayed true from farm to cup. In order to tell this story, and ensure consistency for the consumer, companies began “direct trade.” 

Different from Fair Trade, direct trade is not an official label nor has a standard definition. Direct trade might be different for each roaster or cafe. It could be a direct relationship where they visit annually and talk weekly or it could mean they only know the farm via connections or other sources. If this is something you are passionate about, ask your roasters and cafe about that relationship.

Keep in mind though, the coffee supply chain is incredibly complex! So even a close relationship between a roaster and a farm is more complicated than we might anticipate.

Sustainability Starts at the Farm but it’s Not Where It Ends

There are many stops on the journey of coffee (as the graphic shows). From organic farming to transportation to coffee packaging, there’s opportunity to enhance and improve (or mess up) sustainability efforts along each step.

As better options and techniques come available, Firelight hopes to continually improve their sustainability efforts and see the entire industry positively improve.

You can learn more about Firelight and order coffee at www.firelightcoffee.com.

-Local Union

We’d love to hear from you. Do you think about sustainability and ethics when you drink coffee? What is one company you admire for their sustainability best practices?