Coffee Watch

Coffee Watch Coffee Watch is a watchdog dedicated to the proposition that we should make the world a better place with each cup of coffee.

From environmental to human rights abuses, we fight to reform the global coffee industry. Coffee Watch aims to make the world a better place with every cup of coffee! We investigate and campaign against deforestation in coffee, as well as slavery, child labor, human trafficking, debt bo***ge, and extreme poverty. Please join us to help make the coffee industry more ethical and sustainable!

Child labor is common, and conditions are dire, in Costa Rica’s coffee sector. 🚨☕Our report distinguishes Ngäbe-Buglé ch...
08/20/2026

Child labor is common, and conditions are dire, in Costa Rica’s coffee sector. 🚨☕

Our report distinguishes Ngäbe-Buglé children’s traditional cultural practices from the commercial exploitation of children caused by government and industry failures to protect their rights. ⚖️

The true scale of child labor in commercial coffee production remains unknown, but evidence points to persistent child labor in coffee-growing regions. Children work in dangerous fields, while some girls are left alone for 10 to 12 hours caring for babies in unsafe housing.

Due to failures of government and industry, underpaid parents are often forced into impossible choices. 💔

Casas de la Alegría is a program that was instituted to provide culturally relevant childcare during the harvest, but limited funding, voluntary participation, and insufficient capacity leave thousands without safe alternatives, especially children ages 12 to 15. 🧒🏽👶🏽

Indigenous children deserve safe, culturally-grounded childhoods, not commercial exploitation. ✊🏽

Read the report: https://coffeewatch.org/behind-costa-ricas-pura-vida/

CoffeeWatch

The absolute, hands down, number one question we get asked is: “Okay, but how do I buy good, ethical coffee?” ☕️✨. Unfor...
08/19/2026

The absolute, hands down, number one question we get asked is: “Okay, but how do I buy good, ethical coffee?” ☕️✨.
Unfortunately, the answer is not so simple. Issues like deforestation, excessive pesticide use, child labor, forced labor, etc. are pervasive. If you drink conventional coffee regularly, chances are that you’ve consumed coffee tainted by these problems. Marketing language like “ethical” and “sustainable” can get confusing fast.

That’s why we put together our handy guide to help you choose better coffee wherever you are in the world. The truth is that many consumers have to go out of their way to find coffee that is truly ethical and sustainable. While we try to change the systemic issues, there are rockstar companies that are doing their part to provide consumers with good options.

👉 Check out our buying guide: https://coffeewatch.org/ethical-coffee/
👇 If you are, or know of, a brand that aligns with at least a couple of these criteria, shout them out below.

08/14/2026

One comment we keep hearing on our recent report is that Coffee Watch is “attacking” Costa Rica. Etelle, Director of Coffee Watch, wanted to respond directly — because documenting real, serious abuses on specific farms isn’t an attack on a country. It’s a call to finish work that’s already started. Read the report and our response to the Government of Costa Rica on our website. Link in bio.

08/14/2026

Un enorme agradecimiento a Interferencia por dar visibilidad a este importante tema.

Nuestra directora, Etelle Higonnet, tuvo el honor de conversar con Hernandez Soto y Zeidy Brukwä Rodríguez sobre los hallazgos de nuestro reciente informe y destacar la urgente necesidad de abordar las condiciones que enfrentan algunos trabajadores migrantes Ngäbe-Buglé en la cosecha de café de Costa Rica.

🔗https://coffeewatch.org/behind-costa-ricas-pura-vida/

*****************
Big thank you to Interferences Radio for platforming this important issue.

Our director Etelle Higonnet, was honored to join Alison Hernandez Soto and Zeidy Brukwä Rodríguez to discuss the findings of our recent report and highlight the urgent need to address the conditions that some Ngabe-Bugle migrant workers face in Costa Rica's coffee harvest.

🔗https://coffeewatch.org/behind-costa-ricas-pura-vida/

08/13/2026

After our report on abuses faced by migrant coffee workers in Costa Rica, we heard from critics, farm owners, and now the Costa Rican government itself. Here’s where we stand.

We never claimed all farms are abusive. We said abuses were repeatedly documented, widespread, and persistent. “Not all farms” doesn’t erase the ones where workers were harmed. It’s the same logic as “not all men” or “not all cops.”

Our findings come from field research in Coto Brus and Tarrazú — interviews and site visits, cross-referenced with data from ICAFE, CCSS, MTSS, and the Ministry of Health. We named some farms. We protected others to guard against retaliation.

This isn’t about vilifying Costa Rican coffee. We recognize real progress such as Casas de la Alegría, SITLAM, health coverage. But with roughly 70,000 migrant workers arriving each season and only 43 Casas de la Alegría, and a right to unionize on paper that means almost no farmworkers are actually unionized, current efforts don’t match the need.

We also take seriously a February 2026 letter from Costa Rica’s own Judicial Investigation Unit documenting 19 deaths of Ngäbe-Buglé children in coffee-growing communities, calling them preventable. Over 500 individuals and roughly 100 organizations across Costa Rica and Panama have since called on the government to act.

Our goal isn’t to punish farmers doing right and in fact, we highlight several as models. What we want is a coffee industry where migrant workers have real access to dignity and rights.

Our full response is available on our website. We remain open to dialogue.

🔗https://coffeewatch.org/al-gobierno-de-costa-rica/

Thank you to Greenpeace Africa for helping to spread the message of our report Poison in Your Coffee.🔗https://coffeewatc...
08/12/2026

Thank you to Greenpeace Africa for helping to spread the message of our report Poison in Your Coffee.

🔗https://coffeewatch.org/poison-in-your-coffee/

Deutsche Umwelthilfe INKOTA-netzwerk Pesticide Action Network UK

08/07/2026

Chlorpyrifos is banned in the EU for the damage it does to children’s developing brains. Yet, children and adults are exposed to this dangerous chemical when they it’s still spray it on coffee crops in countries where our coffee is grown.

Our “Poison in Your Coffee” report calls this what it is: environmental injustice. Wealthy nations ban the chemicals they deem too dangerous for their own citizens, then export them, leaving farmers, farmworkers, and coffee-growing communities abroad to absorb the risk often with little protection and with limited resources to resist.
Full report, link in bio.

☕ Costa Rica's coffee is known worldwide for its sustainability and quality. But for many Indigenous Ngäbe-Buglé migrant...
08/06/2026

☕ Costa Rica's coffee is known worldwide for its sustainability and quality. But for many Indigenous Ngäbe-Buglé migrant workers from Panama, the reality behind the harvest is far from the country's "pura vida" image.

Coffee Watch's 2025 investigation found that thousands of workers remain excluded from legal protections because of registration barriers, employer non-compliance, lost documents, and systems that often fail to recognize Indigenous naming practices.

When protections exist only on paper, exploitation continues.

Read the full report (link in bio) ✊🌱

08/05/2026

Behind the “Pura Vida” label lies a very different story. Today we released a new investigation into Costa Rica’s coffee industry and the findings are hard to ignore.

While the country markets itself as the gold standard for ethical, sustainable coffee, our team found that roughly 70% of the harvest is picked by Indigenous Ngäbe-Buglé migrant workers crossing the border from Panama, many working 12-hour days for poverty wages far below a living wage, living in squalid, unsafe housing with no water or electricity.

We also uncovered serious failures by both industry and government to provide safe, culturally appropriate childcare — leaving children, including girls as young as 8, caring for infant siblings alone for hours in these conditions. Add in an environmental record that’s far less “green” than advertised, and it’s clear the gap between marketing and reality is enormous.

This is what really goes into your cup. Read the full report at coffeewatch.org and see why the industry can no longer hide behind voluntary sustainability claims. ☕️​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​



☕Vietnam’s coffee boom has come at a steep cost. Our report, “Robusta’s Reckoning: Vietnam’s Coffee Boom Running out of ...
07/30/2026

☕Vietnam’s coffee boom has come at a steep cost. Our report, “Robusta’s Reckoning: Vietnam’s Coffee Boom Running out of Forest, Water, and Time,” reveals what’s at stake for forests, water, farmers, workers, and children.🔗https://coffeewatch.org/vietnams-robustas-reckoning/

🌳More than 207,000 hectares of tropical forest were cleared for coffee from 1990 to 2024.
🐒Forest loss is damaging wildlife habitats, soil, and water supplies.
👶Thousands of children are still caught in child labor in Vietnam’s coffee sector.

We’re grateful to the journalists and news outlets helping shine a light on these urgent issues and bring this story to wider audiences.

Thank you to:
Ana Puentes at Planeta Futuro / El País
Brice Pedroletti at Le Monde
Michael Grunwald at Canary Media
Francesco De Augustinis Domani
David Lucena Folha de S.Paulo
Mikkel Juhl Schmidt Økonomisk Ugebrev
قهوة ورلد
Nick Brown Daily Coffee News
Naina Rao Mongabay.com

And many others !

Together, this coverage helps amplify a clear message:
✅Invest in soil restoration and agroforestry.
✅Ensure living wages and living incomes to help end child labor and poverty.
✅Strengthen fertilizer and pesticide rules to protect people and the environment.

Address

1209 Orange Street
Wilmington, DE
19801

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Coffee Watch posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category