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Kraft Sips Sustainable Coffee

Kraft Foods has committed to a multiyear deal to purchase coffee from farms certified as sustainably managed. The food giant will buy some five million pounds of coffee in the first year from farms in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Central America. The deal was brokered by the Rainforest Alliance, which certifies, monitors and verifies compliance of the coffee farms through the Sustainable Agriculture Group. It commits Kraft Foods to increasing purchases of certified coffee, paying more to farmers that employ sustainable farm management practices, and working more closely with local community. In addition, the company says it will support training of local certification specialists, auditors and to support the work of the Sustainable Agriculture Group. The deal signals “an institutional change,” said Tensie Whelan, executive director of the Rainforest Alliance. “Given Kraft’s global leadership in coffee sales, this partnership is the first indisputable evidence that the concept of sustainability, once limited to niche markets, is ready to enter the mainstream,” she said. Certified farms can be “havens for wildlife and good places to work, as well as economically viable and outstanding community citizens,” said Juan Marco Alvarez, executive director of SalvaNATURA, a member of the Sustainable Agriculture Network. The price […]

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Japan Boots Up Computer Recycling Law

Japan’s new computer recycling law went into effect this month, giving the used computer business a boost. The new Japanese legislation requires customers to pay a recycling fee of up to 5,000 yen (US$43) in addition to the regular price of new computers. About 98 percent of new computers shipped this season will be stamped with a logo designed by the Japan Electronic and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA) showing that the buyer has paid the recycling fee. When the equipment is no longer wanted, it will be collected for free by the manufacturers, who will recycle the machines into their metal and plastic components. Users of older computers will pay a disposal fee at the end of their machines’ lives. People who want to dispose of computers without the logo, must contact the manufacturer directly by phone or online to request a delivery slip from the recycling department. Secondhand computer stores sell about one million computers each year in Japan, and used computer dealers like Sofmap believe the new regulations will attract public interest in used equipment as long as it is no older than five years old. “The used computer market will likely grow threefold over the next […]

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