Inspired to act after watching Black Gold? (film review here). This post’s part of a series for people who’ve seen (or want to see) the film and want to act. [Part I is here]

If you’ve seen Black Gold, you prolly noticed that the film doesn’t give you any firm conclusions or courses of action. The film doesn’t say, for example, “just buy fair trade certified coffee.”

Why not? Well — One reason why Marc and Nick, the filmmakers, didn’t push the fair trade certification seal: Many corps can get the seal for ONE of their blends. The lil bucket-boy certification seal isn’t a guarantee of good corporate practices for the coffee company as a WHOLE.

Meaning: The seal’s awarded to the blend, not the company. On the one hand, this is great, cuz formerly baddie companies can start moving incrementally, blend by blend.

But on the other hand, some companies’ll certify one of their blends — then milk it to green their whole image (cough — Starbucks — cough).

So if you’re really inspired to take your morning coffee seriously by Black Gold, seek out coffee companies that considers fair trade their raison d’etre, not just their marketing gimmick. Which brings me to –

Action step II: Get to know your local coffee shops and roasters. Ask them — nicely of course — where their coffee comes from.

If you’re dealing with a newbie barista who has no idea what the fuck you’re talking about, ask when the manager might be in — and explain that it’s not about the barista, it’s about you and yr love of fair trade java.

“I love that we have an indie coffee shop here,” you might say, “and I just wanna make sure I’m supporting local biz here as well as where the coffee comes from.”

You’ll find that most indie coffee shop owners are quite amenable. Don’t be afraid if you feel you “don’t know enough” about fair trade coffee. If the barista or manager starts spewing info you’re unfamiliar with, simply say, “Wow, I didn’t know that,” nod your head, and listen to what they have to say. Look at it as a learning experience.

Then, once you get home, either 1) Do your own research to figure out if what the cafe people said is true, or 2) send me an email or write a comment on this post, and I’ll try my best to do your research for ya :)

If things really go badly and you’re confronted with hostility despite your nice intentions, let me know, and we can cross that place off. The point is: Dare to step outside your comfort zone, knowing that you’re not just doing it for you, but for all of us out here :)

And if you do find another yum indie fair trade cafe, let me know, and I’ll add it to the list :)

Update: Here’s part III — Make Starbucks step up!

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