Carte Noire

How ethical and sustainable is Carte Noire? 

Carte Noire is a brand of organic coffee owned by Luigi Lavazza S.p.A. The brand appears in The Good Shopping Guide’s Ethical Coffee Ratings Table but does not currently meet our ethical benchmark. We hope to see the brand making changes in the future to ensure it operates as an ethical coffee brand.

For more information on the organic coffee industry visit The Good Shopping Guide to Ethical Coffee. You can compare to other brands in our Ethical Coffee Ratings Table.

What does Carte Noire do?

Carte Noire was created in 1978 by master blender and roaster René Monnier to bring cafe-style coffee to people’s homes. After many years crafting high-quality french coffee, Carte Noire was born and was the first 100% arabica coffee in the market. Carte Noire was sold to Luigi Lavazza S.p.A. in 2015.

For which criteria does Carte Noire perform poorly? 

Carte Noire does not make Fairtrade coffee; yet, Fairtrade is essential for a company to directly assist the farmers and communities from whom its supplies are sourced. As a result, Carte Noire receives a bottom rating in our Fairtrade criterion.

Carte Noire also received a middle rating in the Environmental Report category because neither the brand nor its parent company has set clear sustainability goals for the future.

In what areas does Carte Noire score well for its ethics?

Lavazza, Carte Noire’s parent company, has no ties to any Nuclear concerns, Armaments, or Political Donations. Carte Noire therefore receives a top rating in all of these categories.

Find out more about our research methodology here.

How can Lavazza improve its ethical rating?

The Good Shopping Guide calculates a brand’s ethical rating using three distinct factors: the Environment, People, and Animals.  Carte Noire is close to meeting the minimum benchmark for being considered an ethical coffee brand and qualifying for Ethical Accreditation.

To meet this benchmark, Carte Noire could consider creating a more extensive sustainability and environmental report with clear and defined goals. It should also look into achieving Fairtrade certification for its products.

If your coffee brand is ethical and sustainable (perhaps you’re single-origin, traceable, Fairtrade or Organic) and you’d like a certification of sustainability to help your brand stand out from the greenwash, get in contact with us or fill out an initial assessment form.