"Fair-trade" is certainly nice sounding brand name for a certification.  While many of the ideas behind Fair Trade / Bird Friendly / Shade Grown / etc. certifications are good, many of the fees, policies, and politics make the systems counter-productive to a sustainable ethical improvement. For example, to be Fair Trade Certified, a coffee farm must pay the certifying agency several significant fees. Many poor farms cannot afford these fees, thus the poor farms cannot be labeled with the fair trade stamp. While some of our coffees happen to have fair-trade certification, we don’t label it as such because it gives an unfair marketing advantage to the farms that can afford the certification over the farms that cannot. We have been able to work directly with coffee farmers and processors to use arrangements were coffee from a specific farm is keep separate and we are able pay the farmer (usually who cannot afford a certification) substantially more for her/his coffee because of the transparency and quality. Fairer then "Fair-Trade".

Muggswigz strives to be a great local business citizen. We recognize there are many causes worthy of support, but by focusing our resources in a few areas we feel our impact is greater. Since 2003, we have geared the majority of Muggswigz giving toward local elementary and high school education, specifically in the natural sciences.

Previous donation recipients include:

   Muggswigz has replaced its paper cups with recyclable polystyrene cups, composts the papery chaff waste from its roasting operation, and the spent coffee grounds from its coffee and tea bars. 

   People have tended to think that because paper cups come from trees they are a better choice for the environment. However, they involve cutting down trees to make cups. Many cups are made with recycled content, but not 100% , so trees are being cut down to make the cups. Additionally, the energy required to manufacture a standard insulated wax-coated paperboard cup is almost three times as much energy as required to manufacture a polystyrene cup. Standard paper cups used with corrugated cardboard sleeves require about two times the energy to produce as polystyrene cups. Fossil-fuel use is further reduced by using polystyrene cups simply because they are 90% air, and thus much lighter then paper cups, greatly reducing transportation fuel consumption. ANd polystyrene eliminates the need for cups sleeves, whose manufacture involves cutting down more trees and burning more fossil fuels. 

   Since paper is not inherently waterproof, and people don't want to run the risk of serious burns if they don't finish their cup of coffee in under a minute, paper cups are coated with polyethylene, unfortunately making them unsuitable for recycling.

   Its important to make well-informed decisions concerning our environmental impact, and we seek to consistently improve.

   Check out this website for more information - http://www.foamfacts.com/