The Rainforest Alliance Certified^TM seal can now be seen in more places than ever. In addition to jumping onto Chiquita bananas across Europe, canned coffee products in Japan and Yuban coffee throughout the United States, the Rainforest Alliance frog has recently landed on a number of new products. In Europe, coffee drinkers can savor newly certified coffees from Tchibo, a major European roaster, and travelers on Netherlands-based KLM Airlines will find Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee in flight. In the UK, smoothie lovers can enjoy Innocent Drinks smoothies, made with 100 percent certified bananas.

Rainforest Alliance Certified Colombian coffee

Down under, Gloria Jean's has begun offering Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee from Nicaragua at more than 350 stores throughout Australia and New Zealand.

In Latin America, the Colombian Coffee Federation offers Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee at 20 Juan Valdez Café locations across Colombia as well as their seven US locations.

And in North America, Caribou Coffee launched certified coffees from Mexico and Guatemala, while Café Bom Dia's Marques de Paiva brand coffee from Brazil expanded to SAM's Club and Wal-Mart discount chains in the US. Zavida expanded its offerings within Canada, and Gevalia supplied Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee to mail-order customers throughout the United States. Wow -- that frog can really hop!

Tell us where your Rainforest Alliance Certified products are being sold.

After nearly two decades of building momentum in Latin America, the Rainforest Alliance is establishing a strong presence in Africa. Encouraged by local buyers, suppliers and farmers, we've launched agriculture projects in Cote d'Ivoire and Ethiopia, and have begun surveying Kenya.

Last April, after a year of preparations, a group of 678 family coffee farms in the Djimmah region of Ethiopia became the first in Africa to be awarded Rainforest Alliance certification. Demand for their beans has already been strong, with Kraft purchasing all of the first year's harvest. The Rainforest Alliance is currently recruiting a local Ethiopian representative to further establish our program with farmers, exporters and stakeholders.

Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai visiting coffee farm

In Cote d'Ivoire, the Rainforest Alliance is working with about 4,000 farmers to encourage sustainable cocoa production. International trade specialist Edmond Konan was recently hired to liaise with local producers and ensure our full understanding of the region's unique social and environmental circumstances. This summer, Konan visited Rainforest Alliance Certified cocoa producers in Ecuador to learn about our program and bring successful cocoa growing methods back to Cote d'Ivoire. An auditor course was held in November to start building local farm inspection capacity. In August, Rainforest representatives visited Kenya to discuss certification with coffee exporters, producers, NGOs and government organizations. Highlighting their itinerary was a visit to two coffee communities at the invitation of Nobel Peace Prize laureate 2004 Wangari Maathai, founder of the Green Belt Movement. Maathai won the Nobel Prize for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace, and is highly respected on the continent.

Imaflora's booth at ExpoSustentat Credit: Imaflora

Brazil grows more coffee than any other country, and is second only to the United States in coffee consumption. IMAFLORA, our Brazilian Sustainable Agriculture Network partner, has certified thousands of acres of sustainable farmland in the country.

IMAFLORA is actively promoting certified coffee in Brazil through events and trade shows. Last October the organization participated in ExpoSustentat in Sao Paulo, a sustainable goods conference attended by over 6,000 people.

In November, IMAFLORA attended a Wal-Mart event set up to educate company staff about sustainable products available in its Brazilian stores. Rainforest Alliance Certified Marques de Paiva coffee is sold at Wal-Mart-owned SAM'S CLUB stores in Brazil. IMAFLORA showcased sustainable products, and set-up a meeting with Wal-Mart's packaging development manager to discuss using certified paper in its store brand packaging.

The Rainforest Alliance has added a new crop to its growing list of sustainable offerings: flowers. Produced at Finca Argovia, a certified farm in Chiapas, Mexico, the blooms are being exported to the US by Texas-based MundoFlowers.

Anthuriums growing at Finca Argovia

As of November, MundoFlowers was test-shipping 1,000 stems a week to Texas supermarket chains and wholesalers. Varieties include Heliconias, Musas, Anthuriums and foliages. The company is developing point-of-sale materials and plans to feature the Rainforest Alliance Certified seal on all company packaging, from boxes to bouquet sleeves.

Consumer demand is growing for responsibly produced flowers. The US organic flower market reached $8 million in 2003, and is projected to grow by 13 percent annually through 2008, according to the Organic Trade Association. Mundo's Sandy Watts, says the company is well poised to tap into this demand. "The distribution possibilities for Texas are advantageous since we sit right in the middle of the United States and can use produce trucks to distribute nationally."

Japan is a world leader in sustainable food purchases. The country consumes about two million certified bananas a year and is home to some of our largest coffee buyers. To support existing partners and further spur the Japanese market for sustainable goods, Rainforest Alliance marketing manager Sabrina Vigilante recently wrapped-up a whirlwind tour of the country.

Budding activists at Tokyo's Global Festa

First stop was Tokyo's Global Festa, a food and development fair where the Rainforest Alliance was featured at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization booth. With 65,000 attendees, traffic was high at the booth with hundreds receiving brochures and temporary frog tattoos.

Throughout her trip, Vigilante ran sustainability workshops for Ueshima Coffee Company (UCC), training sales staff to effectively articulate the benefits of Rainforest Alliance certification. UCC, a leading roaster in Asia, has taken a major role in promoting Rainforest Alliance Certified products to hotels, restaurants, airlines, supermarkets and convenience stores.

Vigilante also met with:

• All Nippon Airways (ANA): Which offers certified coffee in its airport lounges.
• Itochu: Which supplies coffee for chilled beverages sold in several thousand Family Mart convenience stores.
• Kanematsu: Which sells certified coffee to numerous small roasters at the high end of the market.
• National Restaurant Enterprise: Which offers certified coffees in train station cafes.

Vigilante also visited the "Rainforest Lounge," a tropical-themed café serving drinks and desserts made with Rainforest Alliance Certified ingredients. The month-long promotion was sponsored by Chiquita and Key Coffee in hopes of inspiring similar campaigns among their clients.

Guatemalan President Oscar Berger gets certified

Rainforest Alliance reps were busy making rounds of Latin American coffee conferences last year, raising the program's profile in key countries of origin. The Rainforest Alliance had a strong presence at this September's RAMACAFE conference in Nicaragua.

At July's ANACAFE conference in Guatemala, Rainforest Alliance reps took up full-scale guerilla marketing tactics, applying temporary frog seal tattoos to any and all passersby. Even Guatemalan President Oscar Berger couldn't escape unbranded. The following day, photos of him brandishing the Rainforest Alliance Certified^TM Seal appeared in numerous Guatemalan newspapers.

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The Rainforest Alliance works to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behavior.

© 2007 Rainforest Alliance