Green Daily

Environmentalism is a hard thing, sometimes involving tough compromises between the ideal of completely sustainable behavior and the reality of day-to-day existence. I used to find this particularly tough when I went to my local whole foods store, where the hemp-clad employees regularly made pointed remarks about my leather shoes and dogged determination to remain an omnivore. Moreover, even the decision to shop in sustainable stores sometimes took a hit, particularly when I discovered that my local Wal-Mart had many of the same products as my health food joint, but charged about 20% less.

I try my best to do my part for the planet and, even if my attempt at apartment-based composting was a complete and utter disaster, I make an effort to buy products that are sustainable, biodegradable, and environmentally responsible. With this in mind, I was particularly pleased to discover Good Earth coffee. Although their coffee is completely organic, Good Earth costs roughly the same as most non-organic coffees and has a flavor that is as good, if not better, than most premium blends.

Talking to Cheryl Burn, Good Earth's Director of Quality and Product Development, I learned a great deal about how the company ensures consistently delicious coffee while remaining organic. The key, Cheryl told me, lay in blending coffee beans. Whereas many companies go with only one type of coffee, Good Earth mixes beans from around the world to ensure that its blends are consistent, regardless of limitations in supplies. Trying their rich, dark-roasted "Mystic" blend and their milder "Sienna" medium roast, I could taste how effective the company's blending techniques were; to put it bluntly, Good Earth's coffees were as delicious as any I've ever drunk.

Good Earth's commitment to the environment extends beyond their beans. Their packaging uses a biodegradable, cornstarch-based resin in place of polypropylene. While their coffee bags aren't completely renewable, the company is working toward total sustainability. Moreover, they recently unveiled their "Brew at Home" Pledge. Basically, for every person who promises to brew his or her coffee at home, Good Earth will donate $1 to The Trust for Public Land. Their ultimate goal is to sign up 20,000 home brewers, which should make an impressive dent in the 100 million pounds of uncompostable paper coffee cups that are dumped in landfills every year.

As I mentioned in the beginning, environmental awareness can be a hard standard to uphold. However, when a company uses organic growing processes, supports sustainable agriculture, works toward biodegradable packaging, and produces a first-rate product, some of these decisions become very easy!