Higher Grounds Trading Company
Roasting 100% Fair Trade and Organic Handcrafted Coffees
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Our Mission
Higher Grounds Trading Co. is fueled by its social mission to advance economic justice worldwide, and driven by a passion for sourcing the highest-quality coffees from around the world.
We strive to provide you with premium, gourmet, handcrafted coffees while supporting our coffee-producing partners who are leaders in sustainable development and environmental preservation.
Through this website, regular delegations to fair trade coffee growing communities, and the donation of our time, money and coffee to grassroots initiatives in our communities, Higher Grounds aims to create connections between those of us who enjoy a daily dose of fair trade and organic coffee and the amazing people who harvest the green coffee beans.
We've also formed our very own non-profit wing, On the Ground, to partner with organizations and communities in coffee-growing communities to bring fresh drinking water, education and health care to those without.
Through regular communication, yearly visits and collaboration with human rights and development organizations, Higher Grounds is proud to offer our customers a first-rate coffee and the opportunity to create social change.
When you purchase Higher Grounds coffees you are:
Supporting Fair Trade
By adhering to the standards of the Fair Trade Labeling Organization and working with fair trade cooperatives, we are promise a dignified wage to our partner farmers, bringing the benefits of fair trade to the communities that need it most.
Saving Biodiversity and Bird Habitats
Conventional coffee farming methods involve clearing forests in order to mature the coffee cherries more rapidly in direct sunlight. Higher Ground's partnering cooperatives grow their organic coffee under a canopy of shade trees, preventing soil erosion, disruption to migratory bird populations, and other losses to this priceless habitat.
Promoting Organic Agriculture
Conventional coffee is primarily grown using massive doses of pesticides, herbicides and insecticides – devastating the soil and groundwater, and creating an economic strain on the small-scale farmer. Higher Grounds is proud to work with coffee cooperatives that are certified organic or are in transition to becoming certified (meaning they are practicing organic farming techniques and are awaiting certification).
Supporting the Formation of Indigenous Rights and Dignity
More than 500 years after being conquered and colonized by the Spanish, the Mayan people, as well as indigenous peoples throughout the Americas, continue to struggle against oppression and poverty most recently imposed upon them by the forces of corporate globalization. Higher Grounds is working with cooperatives that have received international recognition for their inspiring, undying dedication in the struggle to create a just, equitable, and fair world for all people.
Fostering Corporate Social Responsibility
Most conventional coffee companies are worried about one bottom line: profit. In the coffee business, this is a very dangerous and, in our perspective, unethical practice to follow. By focusing solely on increasing profits, companies are not considering the devastating social and environmental impacts of buying coffee below the cost of production. At Higher Grounds we are dedicated to considering the livelihood of the coffee farmers we work with when making all business decisions. Recycling, composting and purchasing post-consumer recycled paper for office supplies are all "business as usual" at Higher Grounds!
