For paid subscribers: Coffee is increasingly used to burnish the United Arab Emirates’ international image. Now it is being supercharged by merging with the popularity of the Dubai chocolate trend.
The coffee industry version of greenwashing.
Coffeewashing is when coffee companies deceive or mislead the public about the positive social, economic and environmental impact of their products or actions.
The coffee scene in Dubai is thriving, and the city is set to welcome the Specialty Coffee Association’s World of Coffee event next month. But underneath the glitzy facade and marketing buzz lies a moral quagmire.
As the climate crisis intensifies, regenerative agriculture could play a key role in sustaining and strengthening the global coffee industry. That is, if it can escape becoming just another corporate sustainability buzzword.
Coffee is filled with buzzwords that lack agreed-upon definitions: slightly woolly terms like “Sustainable,” “Ethical,” even “Specialty.” Companies use them constantly to sell more coffee—but what do these words actually mean?
Coffee companies love to fund projects that look good in press releases and impact reports. However, corporate philanthropy is mostly a shield to deflect criticism, protect power, and avoid regulation.
