Germack is working to reduce waste and energy. In our café, Germack uses Green Safe http://www.michigangreensafeproducts.com/ biodegradable plastic, milk from returnable glass bottles, and now we are composting our coffee, tea and filter waste.

Composting

At the beginning of May 2018, we have started a collaboration with Midtown Composting to compost 100 Percent of our coffee grounds, tea bags, and any other organic materials. We are on course to begin composting all our hot and cold cups by the beginning of the summer. The Compost from our coffee grounds will go to local farms in Detroit and will eventually be batched together with other Eastern Market businesses to help grow produce in our own neighborhood. We are currently exploring several other projects to reduce the impact of our business. We will be rolling out initiatives to work with our neighbors and customers to make our business as green as the farms that we source so many of our products from.
(We will also have opportunities to purchase produce grown by the same farms using our compost, which will be another way to reduce our impact if we decide to run specials using local produce)

Sourcing

We are constantly searching for the most sustainable and mutually beneficial relationships when it comes to our coffee sourcing. We work with importers who have long-term growth-oriented relationships, and we seek farmers who are thoughtful and innovative to achieve the best quality as well as the most economically and environmentally sustainable practices. The economics of coffee are extremely sophisticated and can challenging to navigate, but we have committed to learning as much as we can to connect the dots. Our mission is to ensure that our coffee, from farms abroad to your kitchen or office, has a positive impact on everyone involved.