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Article

18 Mar 2011

Author:
Dan Welch, Ethical Consumer

[DOC] Response to Starbucks Coffee Company comments of 4th March 2011 by Dan Welch, Co-editor of Ethical Consumer magazine.

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In response to Mr. Packard’s claim that I ignored Starbuck’s ‘industry-leading ethical buying guidelines’ on coffee sourcing and positive environmental standards...By ‘industry-leading ethical buying guidelines’...Mr. Packard refers to Starbuck’s own standard, C.A.F.E. certification. C.A.F.E. …has measurable standards for: how much of the price Starbucks pays reaches the farmer; some minimal workers’ rights; and environmental criteria. It earns a ‘Worst’ in our Supply Chain Management category…[Starbuck’s]… “Social Responsibility Standards,” [are]…offering even weaker protection of workers than its C.A.F.E. standards…Nor do I ignore Starbucks environmental performance…Starbucks role in lobbying against Ethiopia’s US trade mark applications…is a matter of public record…[K]ey criticism of Starbucks is that while enthusiastically pushing its Fairtrade credentials in the UK, in the US the company continues to aggressively fight a rearguard action against workers.

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