Ed, you have to remember that a large section of the specialty coffee trade in the US grew out of the 60s counterculture. Organic, sustainable, and socially just practices in farming are, for most of the roasters doing direct trade, a matter of course. Also, Slow Food style DOC style certifications are also supported by most of the roasters. There is an internal quarrel about the bureaucratization, cost, and quality disincentives of some of certification programs; and outrage at the various kleptocrat factions in Ethiopia and Kenya using the rhetoric of these organizations as cover for some organized rip offs.

In other words, you're preaching to the choir.

Obviously, in a generation, when the founders are gone, and the correlation between high quality, high profits, and sustainable practices is no longer as strong; the current direct trade programs will probably drift away from their current standards, and maybe even become corrupt; but that happens to all institutions that aren't regularly reformed, revised or abolished.