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. Carte Noire 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. A way to increase our confidence- as well as customer confidence in the brand- would be if it submitted itself to apply for Ethical Accreditation; this would allow The Good Shopping Guide to conduct a more detailed assessment resulting in specific recommendations for ethical and sustainable business development.

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. It quickly became a premium product. It became known that Carte Noire was sold to Luigi Lavazza S.p.A. in 2015. Carte Noire is known for its pure arabica organic coffee.

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. Carte Noire also received a low score for its sustainability report because it did not set clear goals for the future. The goals that the brand did set were vague and did not include measurable goals for the brand to work towards or track progress against. The firm has made no remark on the usage of Genetically Modified substances in its coffee, causing Carte Noire to be rated in the middle category for this criteria by The Good Shopping Guide.

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

Carte Noire excels in several areas, including Animal Welfare, as the brand does not test on animals and ensures that they are not mistreated throughout the manufacturing process. Lavazza has no ties to any Nuclear concerns, Armaments, or Political Donations, and is so unaffiliated with any political views or parties. Organic coffee, certified by the the EU, is produced and sold by the brand, which states that it uses 100% organic coffee beans. Find out more about our research methodology here.

Lavazza has no public record criticisms and is regarded as one of the best supermarket coffee brands producing sustainable coffee for ethical shoppers and conscious consumers.

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 releasing a statement about genetically-modified ingredients; if these are not included in its products, this would push them into the top rating for that category.

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.