Starbucks Coffee

Since Starbucks began purchasing fair trade coffee in 2000, they have become the largest buyer of Certified Fair Trade coffee in North America – consisting of about 10% of the global market. Though, as with most large companies, it can be very difficult to ensure consistency across the many franchise operations. While Starbucks certainly purchases fair trade coffee from sources around the world, purchasing fair trade coffee at a Starbucks location can be hit or miss.

 

At some locations you must wait to for the fair trade coffee to be brewed especially for you while others have it available most of the time without a wait. On a recent trip to the Starbucks on Bluemont in Manhattan, I was able to get a cup of their Italian roast fair trade coffee with no problems. Beyond brewed, in-store availability, Starbucks also offers fair trade whole beans in some locations and other retailers.

During my research, I found that recently, Starbucks has switched to using all fair trade coffee in all the espresso drinks they make in the UK and Ireland with hopes to soon extend that standard to the US! That is a great step in fair trade availability because Starbucks is such as large company with a huge fan-base.  

In a 2009 interview, Senior Vice President of coffee and tea Dub Hay said that 10% of the coffee Starbucks purchases and sells is fair trade. A much larger percentage of its coffee meets C.A.F.E. guidelines.

Yep, Starbucks has its own certification system. With the help of Conservation International, Starbucks has developed buying guidelines for ethical sourcing of products. The Coffee and Farmer Equity Practices (C.A.F.E.) ensure that farmers grow coffee in a way that limits harm to both people and the planet. “C.A.F.E. Practices is a comprehensive set of measurable standards focused on the following four areas: Product Quality, Economic Accountability, Social Responsibility, and Environmental Leadership.” Currently, more than 80% of Starbucks coffee is at least up to CAFÉ standards.

 

The CAFE standards are quite interesting and are definitely worth looking into in. They can be found at: http://www.scscertified.com/retail/docs/CAFE_GUI_EvaluationGuidelines_V2.0_093009.pdf

More information on Starbucks’ ethical and sustainability standards can be found at: http://www.starbucks.com/responsibility/sourcing/coffee

M.G.