For several decades, there have been various international efforts to make coffee growing more environmentally friendly. Those efforts have slowly gained ground, with some added motivation during recent periods when variable demand and supply and severe weather added even more volatility to the coffee market. One result has been a focus by growers and producers on the benefits of increasing perceived value so they can charge a higher price.
They have succeeded to some degree, as so-called "sustainably-produced" coffees have captured a small but growing share of the world market, around 3%. Of that share, organic coffee has 0.6% of the market in the major consuming countries, and last year in the US it grew about 50% from 2004 to 2005, according to the Organic Trade Association's Coffee Council: Facts About Organic Coffee and release.
