Image credit: Getty ImagesVogue Australia may receive advertising or affiliate commission if you buy through our links. Read morehere.For many of us, our only interaction with coffee beans is seeing them in the grinder at a café before we’re served up with our morning refreshment. However, considering the coffee industry is unfortunately plagued with ethical complications that stem far back from your local barista, it’s worth doing your own research.Much of the world’s coffee and tea is sourced from developing countries, where mistreatment of workers is rife and, in extreme cases, modern slavery and child labour can be prevalent. In addition to these issues, the environmental ramifications of coffee and tea harvesting need to be monitored, and whileFairtrade coffeeis increasing in popularity, a new guard of coffee brands and small-scale farmers are doing their best to put transparency and ethics at the forefront of production.If you’re on the lookout for a coffee company that holds sustainability and the livelihoods of their farmers at the top of their priority list, we have you covered. Keep reading for seven ethical coffee brands to shop from.Vogue’s top picksBest local coffee brands:Mecca Coffee,Tropeaka CoffeeBest coffee bean brands:Barossa Coffee Roasters,The Cat’s PyjamasBest ground coffee brands:Fair Coffee,Byron Bay Coffee CompanyByron Bay Coffee CompanyFew places in the world feel as pure as Byron Bay does, and the Northern Rivers-based Byron Bay Coffee Company takes its cues from that inimitable method of clean living. A family-run business, Byron Bay Coffee Company’s products are 90 per cent organic and Rainforest Alliance certified, while personally ensuring the coffee plantations they source from are of the highest ethical standards.SHOP NOWatAmazonMecca CoffeeAesthetically pleasing packaging aside, Australian beanery Mecca Coffee are renowned for their varying different flavours, strengths and intensities, and are sticklers for both good coffee and ethical standards. Mecca lists the origins of all of their coffees on their website and works from the bottom of the supply chain upwards to create high-quality coffee. Sold in beans, find a flavour that suits you—for example, the ‘Moonwalker’ blend is slightly aromatic and best combined with milk, while the Kenyan ‘Gachatha’ coffee is full-bodied and clean-tasting.SHOP NOWatWoolworthsThe Cat’s Pyjamas Coffee (by Seven Miles)If the adorable cat logo on the packaging of The Cat’s Pyjamas coffee doesn’t draw you in, the solid ethical credentials and great taste will eventually. For them, transparency in farming is key—just look at their packaging, which lists the exact locations their bean varieties are sourced from.SHOP NOWatWoolworthsFair CoffeeThe kind of consumer transparency afforded by Fair Coffee should be the standard, and hopefully will be in years to come. Customers can visit the brand’s website and read exactly what the brewers have purchased with their Certified Fairtrade premiums, in countries from Brazil to Papua New Guinea. As for the coffee, it comes at a minimum price point—try the ‘World’ blend with maroon packaging for something unexpected and sweet.SHOP NOWatWoolworthsTropeaka CoffeeWhen Australian coffee brand Tropeaka says their brews are ‘clean’, they don’t just mean in the taste department. Their coffee is free of harmful pesticides, mycotoxins, moulds and chemicals that are often prevalent in the coffee farming process and ensure you’re consuming the purest product possible. They also enforce guidelines to check that their coffee is devoid of unsuitable working conditions and child labour, so you can rest assured your beans are coming from a good place.SHOP NOWatTropeaka CoffeeBarossa Coffee RoastersThe Barossa Valley may be renowned around the world for its wines, but with companies like Barossa Coffee Roasters, expect to find some of the best coffee emanating from there too. The South Australian roaster includes a pledge on their website that vows the importance of choosing ethically-backed coffee—for your own sake, for farmers and for the planet.SHOP NOWatBarossa Coffee RoastersMarket Lane CoffeeMelbourne-based roaster Market Lane Coffee is one of the many Australian coffee brands to keep tabs on. Working with a dedication to sustainability and ethical sourcing, the brand elaborates on their longstanding relationships with farmers on their website, as well as their steadfast environmental practices and constant striving to do better.SHOP NOWatMarket Lane CoffeeWant moreVogue Living? Sign up to theVogue Livingnewsletterfor your weekly dose of design news and interiors inspiration.