Since Ethical Consumer Magazine's report, we've further improved our environmental credentials by doing the following:
- Upgrading all our coffee bag packaging to PE4 recyclable material - a 2 year project and great investment on our part to make it happen.
- All mailing bags and boxes are now fully biodegradable.
- Hessian & Jute Coffee Bags are passed on to farming industry.
- We've now donated over £30,000 to the RSPB Charity.
]]>They write:
"Our award-winning coffee partner celebrated two achievements this year: over £20,000 raised for the RSPB, and the launch of 100% domestically recyclable packaging. Bird & Wild beans are Fairtrade, organic and shade-grown, meaning native trees throughout plantations provide habitat for migratory birds. RSPB receives 6% of sales totalling £25,517.97 since 2017. We'll drink to that!"
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The Guardian wrote:
"There are greener ways of sustaining our caffeine habits so the planet and wildlife take less of a hit. Bird & Wild produces multi-award winning coffee that does that -and more.
Its coffee is shade grown - a traditional, seasonal, sustainable method - and certified bird-friendly, Fairtrade and Organic.
It donates six percent of sales to the RSPB, £16,000 since 2017, and supports the Smithsonian Migratory Center's research and conservation. Fill your cup with a truly ethical and eco-friendly brew.".
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"A little bird told me Supporting the RSPB, this rich coffee blend is vegan, organic and shade-grown to protect the rainforest. Bird & Wild seasonal blend."
"These sustainable brands make it their mission to look after your body and mind, while passionately protecting the environment."
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Psychologies Magazine said:
"Voted the winner of our Reader's Choice award, this coffee supports the RSPB and is organic, vegan-friendly and shade grown, which means it helps protect the rainforests and its native species. It's not yet plastic-free but is a delicious, eco-conscious choice and it's not too strong either. Lovely and smooth with a subtle dark chocolate taste."
You can see the full awards breakdown here.
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Last year we were fortunate to spend two weeks with Andres and Paola, a couple passionate about the environment who run a small coffee plantation near Cali in Colombia.
Andres and Paola welcomed us into their home and were delighted to show us all about their environmentally friendly activities as well as how they grow their coffee. It’s called Café de los Suenos, Coffee of dreams.
They grow their coffee under the shade of native trees, these trees attract birds which feed on insect pests so they don’t need to use pesticides. The trees also help prevent erosion.
They told us coffee production uses a great deal of water in the washing processes and so they devote a lot of effort in treating the waste water to avoid contamination of nearby water sources. They even use the husks from the beans as compost.
Birds like the Canada Warbler are grateful to find shelter and food on their land, many other coffee plantations are bare of trees. It’s an essential refuge for the many birds that come down from North America to escape the harsh winters there.
We were in Colombia to make some films for Calidris, the Birdlife partner there. We had all our film-making kit with us so we made a short film about Café de los Suenos to say thank you to Andres and Paola for looking after us so well. Have a look at it here:
See for yourself how they make their Shade Grown Coffee! When we got home the first thing we did was seek out Shade Grown Coffee and, whenever we drink our Bird and Wild coffee, we think of those warblers.
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"Bird & Wild's range is one to seriously consider for a plethora of reasons, being organic, fair trade and vegan-friendly are just three.
The brand is the only certified bird-friendly coffee, 6% of the proceeds from sales are donated to the RSPB, the Fairtrade Foundation and the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Centre.
Purchasing from this brand is just one step you can take if you're passionate about wildlife and the environment. It was also crowned winner of the 2019 Global Impact Award, at the Sustainable Business Awards."
https://www.mirror.co.uk/money/shopping-deals/best-fair-trade-coffee-brands-22395991
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Bird & Wild is a certified Fairtrade, Organic and Shade Grown coffee brand that donates 6% of all sales to the RSPB. It’s also certified Smithsonian Bird Friendly® by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center (SMBC), the only 100% organic and shade-grown coffee certification in the world.
In 2018 Bird & Wild won the Global Impact Award at the Ethical Business Awards, as well as being named No 1 Ethical Coffee by Ethical Consumer Magazine, making it one of the leading sustainable coffee brands in the UK
Guy Wilmot, Founder of Bird & Wild, said, “I’ve worked in coffee importing and roasting for over ten years, and I’ve seen the industry and public alike become increasingly aware and concerned about the ethical, environmental and sustainable practices involved with coffee production.
“With Bird & Wild, we wanted to offer the gold standard in sustainable coffee for consumers, cafes, restaurants and retailers, so we are thrilled to have hit £18,000 in donations to the RSPB.
It’s a win-win for everyone – growing coffee in a sustainable way, protecting nature at home in the UK, and giving consumers a truly sustainable coffee that helps the environment with every cup.
We welcome retailers, cafes, offices and restaurant partners who want to serve great coffee and contribute to Corporate Social Responsibility goals, so please do get in touch to make a difference.”
Emma Walsh the RSPB’s licensing manager, said, “Bird & Wild show that all of us can make a difference without even leaving our own homes – by choosing ethical, nature-friendly products we can help make sure that our habits, such as that daily cup of coffee, aren’t harming wildlife in another country. We are so grateful to them for their kind donations and look forward to seeing how they continue to blossom!”
Dr. Scott Sillett, SMBC Center Head, said, "We're pleased to work with Bird & Wild to increase awareness of Bird Friendly Certification in Europe, and welcome all coffee companies large and small in joining our growing movement."
Bird & Wild currently offers two blends: Seasonal Medium Roast and Signature Espresso Dark Roast in 200g, 500g and 1kg bags.
Bird & Wild is available at:
RSPB: www.shopping.rspb.org.uk/food-drink/
Bird & Wild: www.birdandwild.co.uk/
Amazon: www.amazon.co.uk
Learn more about Bird Friendly® habitat at: s.si.edu/BirdFriendly
Contact:
Guy Wilmot, Founder
Email: sales@birdandwild.co.uk
]]>The status of the Cerulean Warbler has been amended from Vulnerable to Near Threatened...
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"The biggest consideration in any coffee purchase – whether it’s at home or at a cafe – is how the beans are grown. “Coffee cultivation covers a broader range of cultivation methods and, hence level of environmental impact, than almost any other crop in the world,” says sustainability expert Aaron Gove from Astron Environmental Services in Perth.
Traditional methods that use shaded plantations and waterway buffering to cultivate coffee beans have the gentlest footprint and foster rich ecological biodiversity. At the other end of the spectrum, monocrops grown in sunlight to increase yield result in deforestation, reduced biodiversity and use of diesel-guzzling machinery, fertilisers and pesticides.
Gove therefore recommends looking for eco-friendly labels as certification programs have proven successful in promoting shade coffee plantations and forest conservation. Two key labels are Australian Certified Organic and Rainforest Alliance. However the latter’s standards have become less strict, and the best guarantee of sustainable coffee is now the Bird Friendly certification. Unfortunately this classification is not used in Australia, but some suppliers, such as BunCoffee and Cafe Britt, do source “shade-grown” beans, not certified bird friendly, but at least you know the tree habitats aren’t destroyed."
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But, we'd like to announced that we've had a string of 4 adverts in the Classifieds section by teaming up with the folks at Birds & Beans Coffee in the USA that also roast and pack Bird Friendly Coffee.
We're hoping the advertising campaign highlights the concept of Bird Friendly coffee as well as getting new personal and corporate customers. Fingers crossed!
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We recommend all those interested in bird friendly and shade grown coffee practices buy a copy of this month's BBC Wildlife Magazine hot off the press..!
You can read the article here.
]]>The Future Food Awards are here to celebrate the new brands and innovations revolutionising the food and drink industry.
Brought to you by Speciality Food Magazine and The FoodTalk Show, they're giving the most exciting businesses of today a step towards success, international recognition and money-can't-buy contact with some of food and drink's most revered experts.
The eventual winner will get to pitch to the Judges on Thursday 3 October at The Bread & Jam Festival. Though we're sorry we didn’t quite make it as a winner, we are proud to reach the last five in this fiercely fought category.
As a Finalist, we will be appearing in Speciality Food Magazine in September.
Press Release
FINALISTS REVEALED FOR INAUGURAL FUTURE FOOD AWARDS
The full line-up of the inspirational and
innovative companies chosen as finalists
in the 2019 Future Food Awards has just
been announced. Bird & Wild Coffee are
delighted to announce they are a Finalist in
the Mission Driven Category at the
Future Food Awards 2019.
The Future Food Awards celebrate,
support and offer invaluable opportunities to
trailblazing food companies and highlight the
‘best of the best’ in British food and drink.
The 2019 finalists have been selected from
hundreds of entries across nine different
categories, including Farm to Fork, Young
Producer, Drink Innovation, Mission Driven
and Food Tech Innovation.
The Future Food Awards, which are in
their first year, are the brainchild of Holly
Shackleton, editor of Speciality Food Magazine
– the biggest trade magazine in the fine food
sector – and Sue Nelson, founder of The
FoodTalk Show – a dedicated podcast enjoyed
around the world.
Nelson said: “This year’s finalists provide an
insight into the incredibly talented and diverse
companies that are helping to power forward
their organisations in this dynamic sector of
UK industry. These Awards give food and drink
businesses ranging from small-scale producers to
technology-driven innovators a chance to shine.”
The 2019 Future Food Awards finals will take
place at the Bread & Jam Festival, on Thursday
3rd October 2019, at the iconic 116 Pall Mall,
London, the home of the Institute of Directors.
A panel of judges boasting legendary
founders and industry experts will whittle
the entries down to unveil a winner from
each category. All category winners will pitch
to judges at the Bread & Jam Festival to be
named Supreme Champion.
Bread & Jam, which runs from October 3rd
to 4th, is an annual two-day conference and
bootcamp for emerging and scaling food and
drink brands, bringing together food and drink
founders and innovators, investors, retailers,
media and industry leaders.
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It's from way back in September 2018, but Speciality Food Magazine ranked us in the Top 40 in the New Producer Awards. Thanks guys!
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This informative article includes a contribution from Bird & Wild Coffee as follows
"Guy Wilmot, founder of coffee company Bird & Wild, agrees with the importance of continuing traditional practices.
“Coffee grows naturally in the shade as part of a forest or jungle ecosystem. Sadly, the majority of coffee plantations across the globe have become “sun grown” since the 1970s, which means that coffee is grown out in the open and fed with vast amounts of water, fertilisers and pesticides as a mono-culture with little other life to speak of, so no trees or bushes and no insects or life for wildlife to feed on."
In short, almost no biodiversity to speak of and a short-termist outlook that degrades the soil rapidly. Shade grown coffee is the opposite of all that, so think biodiversity and coffee agriculture balanced with nature that will last for generations to come.”
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The Blue Patch Business Awards champion outstanding small brands and SME (small and medium-sized enterprises), support the local economy and promote sustainable businesses across the British Isles. The awards recognise high quality design as well as genuine, innovative and sustainable approaches to ethical business.
Guy Wilmot, the owner of Bird & Wild was awarded the Blue Patch’s Global Impact Award which is for businesses based in the British Isles that work with international communities, creating ethical partnerships with good supply chain management.
The RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) teamed up with Bird and Wild only a year ago to offer a truly ethical and environmentally friendly shade-grown coffee that is triple certified as Bird Friendly, Organic and Fairtrade.
Rebecca Porter, the RSPB’s product & licensing manager said: “Guy is very passionate about his bird-friendly coffee, as are we! It is shade grown which means it grows more slowly, requires less water and/ or the need to use any invasive fertilisers or pesticides. This in turn supports greater biodiversity and ensures that the forest in which it’s grown sustains a healthy ecosystem…it also tastes great!”
Guy Wilmot, CEO of Bird & Wild Coffee said: “We’re simply thrilled to win the Global Impact Award. Coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world and most of us drink it every day, but without thinking of the consequences. The Sustainable Business Awards are a big deal for us as its broadens our platform to communicate about why organic, shade grown and bird friendly certification are so crucial about protecting coffee origin ecosystems and, at the same time, helping protect nature at home in the UK through our partnership with the RSPB.”
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Ethical Consumer Magazine, founded in 1989, is the leading journal analysing consumer products from an environmental and ethical standpoint. Indeed, Ethical Consumer ranks over 40,000 consumer products by its ethical rating covering 300 topics in 19 areas in 5 main categories.
Recently, Ethical Consumer has turned its focus to coffee and investigated, scored and ranked the ethical and environmental record of 56 brands of ground coffee, coffee beans and pods, as well as instant coffee.
You can view this report at:
https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/food-drink/shopping-guide/coffee-and-coffee-beans
Bird & Wild Coffee was ranked as No 1 Ethical Coffee out of 56 coffee brands investigated!
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Natural & Organic Products Europe is Europe’s biggest trade show for natural & organic products making it the ‘must attend’ event for buyers of natural health and living products, natural and organic food & drink as well as natural beauty & personal care products.
We served our seasonal blend medium roast and signature espresso blend coffees all throughout the show to thousands of trade visitors and changed hearts and minds one cup of bird friendly coffee at a time.
All in all, the show went went well with several very promising meetings, but this year definitely suffered from the Marathon and the hot weather. The London Marathon caused transport chaos, with DLR closures, and the warm weather made people stay away and picnic in the park.
Having said that, the Natural Organic Europe show is the easiest way of putting your product in front of serious buyers and, if several of these leads follow through, it will more than make up for it.
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