Fair-trade coffee earns York a bean

Canada's York University has unveiled its own brand of fair-trade coffee.

Las Nubes, the Costa-Rican-grown coffee, will give the Toronto-based university a buzz while offering a novel way of fundraising for research.

York is pumping extra money into environmental projects, supporting fair trade and ecologically sound practices.

Timothy's, a coffee chain, will sell the product with the York logo at its 140 stores. A dollar per pound of coffee sold will fund the university's conservation research in the Costa Rican rainforest.

Lorna Marsden, York president, said the coffee would allow consumers "to demonstrate their commitment to the environment and social justice".