Jed's Coffee Co
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 3 November 2026 · 7 sources
New Zealand brand selling numbered-strength coffee.
There's no proof the people who grow its coffee earn more than the legal minimum, which in Brazil is below a living wage, and Jed's Coffee Co has no full independent audit.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 1 of 5 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 2 red flags: no evidence of a living wage and unaudited production in high-risk countries. Two or more red flags means a poor grade.
- It isn't Harm on record, because there's no serious confirmed problem on its record.
- Lacks transparency is still a poor grade: in supply chains like this, workers who can't be seen to be treated fairly are usually underpaid or unprotected.
Good requirements 1 of 5
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
- Not met: Respects worker rightsSome of its coffee is grown in countries such as Honduras and Colombia, where unions are heavily restricted, and it has no full supply chain audit.
- Not met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standards
- Met: No confirmed child or forced labour findings or linksUnconfirmed reports of forced labour are listed below. They don't affect the grade.
- Not met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that list
Red flags 2
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Made partly in countries with poor worker rights, without a full independent audit of its supply chain
| Star | Awarded for |
|---|---|
| Finds and fixes problems, or invests in communities |
Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Estimates for its products
Our rules applied to one kind of product at a time, using Jed's Coffee Co's evidence and, where it has product lines, that line's countries. They're estimates: we don't know which factory made any single item.
- A product carrying the Fairtrade mark: Good
Holding one? Scan its barcode for an estimate that uses its care label or ingredients.
Where its coffee is grown
These are JDE Peet's coffee origins across all its brands; Jed's Coffee Co doesn't say where its own coffee is grown. The rest is shown as where coffee is usually grown.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | Systematic violations | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| VietnamUsual for the industry | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Honduras | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Uganda | Systematic violations | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| ColombiaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| IndonesiaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| EthiopiaUsual for the industry | Systematic violations | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| PeruUsual for the industry | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| GuatemalaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Papua New Guinea | We don't have labour ratings for this country yet. | ||
Evidence
What we found
- Risk across the industry, not a finding about this company: coffee is on the US Department of Labor child or forced labour list for over a dozen countries, and farm-gate prices often fall below a living income.
- Modern slavery statement
- Invests in worker and farming communities
Research notes Jed's roasts its coffee in New Zealand but does not say which countries its beans come from or name any farms or certifications; it points to owner JDE Peet's Common Grounds programme, which JDE runs itself rather than an independent label. JDE buys from about 30 origins, including Brazil, Honduras, Papua New Guinea and Uganda, and reported 88.8% of its green coffee responsibly sourced in 2025, with no brand-level figures. Brazilian farms linked to JDE's suppliers have been found using slave labour; JDE runs childcare and child labour projects in Honduras and Uganda but has no living income target for growers.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Modern Slavery Register | Listed | Jacobs Douwe Egberts AU Pty Ltd lodges Australian modern slavery statements; the 2022 statement does not mention Jed's or New Zealand. View |
| UK Modern Slavery Statement Registry | Listed | JDE Peet's lodges a group modern slavery statement for 2025 (approved May 2026), naming child labour risks on coffee farms in Honduras and Uganda. View |
| KnowTheChain | Not listed | Neither JDE Peet's nor owner Keurig Dr Pepper is among the 45 companies in the 2026 KnowTheChain food and beverage benchmark. View |
| Fairtrade (incl. FLOCERT and Fairtrade ANZ) | Not listed | Jed's makes no Fairtrade or Rainforest Alliance claim for its main range. View |
Unconfirmed reports
Credible reports that haven't been confirmed by a regulator, completed investigation or the company. They're shown for your information and don't affect the grade.
- Brazilian inspectors rescued 87 workers from slave-like conditions in 2018 on farms supplying the Cooxupé cooperative, a coffee supplier to Jed's owner JDE (Conectas, 2024); no link to Jed's coffee has been shown. A 2018 OECD complaint by Conectas and the union ADERE-MG over the case closed in 2025 with no resolution. Source
- Repórter Brasil reported in 2025 that four farms of Cooxupé members were put on Brazil's slave-labour list over 36 workers, and that Cooxupé's exporter supplied JDE; JDE and other buyers said they had not sourced from those farms (BHRRC, 2025). Source
Sources and actions
Sources 7
Show all 7 sources
- JDE Peet's group modern slavery statement 2025 (UK registry) · search the archive · 2025 group statement approved May 2026; child labour risks in Honduras and Uganda coffee; childcare centres and remediation projects
- OECD Watch: Conectas & ADERE-MG v. Jacobs Douwe Egberts · search the archive · Complaint filed 2018; JDE left mediation in 2024; final statement in 2025 with no resolution
- Keurig Dr Pepper completes JDE Peet's acquisition (Cleary Gottlieb) · search the archive · Acquisition closed 1 April 2026
Published by Jed's Coffee Co or its owner
- Jed's Coffee Co (Australia) · search the archive · Sold in Australia at Coles; whole bean, bean bag ranges
- Jed's Coffee: Sustainability · search the archive · Points to JDE Peet's Common Grounds programme; no origins or certifications stated
- Jed's Coffee NZ: Sustainability · search the archive · Coffee bags contain 100% NZ roasted and ground coffee
- JDE Peet's responsible sourcing · search the archive · 88.8% of green coffee responsibly sourced in 2025 under the HREDD process; this does not mean no abuses
Company details
- Headquarters
- New Zealand
- Last researched
- 3 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Jed's Coffee Co ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/jeds-coffee, last researched 3 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
Better-graded beans and roasters
Something missing or wrong?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Jed's Coffee Co.