Read the article. She cites her sources. Good grief ~ this gas bee going on for YEARS!

Hi Shay, thanks for your note. It’s true that Starbucks has worked with many non-profits and given money. However, corporate charity (or any charity!) does not offset responsibility for human rights conditions in supply chains. In fact, giving to charities and pointing the finger to that when called out for other issues is a classic “greenwashing” technique across many industries (Conservation International’s work with Chevron is a classic example of this). If you’re interested in this, I’d definitely suggest listening to the episode of our podcast where we talk to Charity Ryerson of Corporate Accountability Lab: https://fairworldproject.org/podcast/season-1/episode-7/
It’s definitely an issue I’ve done a fair amount of research on, but if you have sources that you think I’d find useful, I’d appreciate it!
Anna

Thank you for the book recommendations, Chris. I agree with you on many of your points and look forward to reading these.

Anna,
I don’t completely disagree with some of the statements you have raised here (like that slavery exists in the supply chain for this company as well as many others) but I feel that there were some considerations that you didn’t make (perhaps due to weak research) or you intentionally left-off to inflame your readership.

You regularly state above that C.A.F.E. only reviews their certifications once every 2-3 years (which I agree is not enough) but you also regularly fail to mention that that is actually better than the industry standard which is the square-root rule whereby of 5200 farms only 70 would be reviewed to verify they are following the conditions of their certification (slave labor, no child labor AND FAIR-TRADE).
I point you to “The Source: The Hidden Human Cost Within a Cup of Coffee” Weather Films, 20 Dec 2016,

I also highly recommend the following article by Stanford University discussing why fair trade really isn’t doing what it was meant to do. Haight, Colleen, “The Problem with Fair Trade Coffee.” Stanford Social Innovation Review: Informing and Inspiring Leaders of Social Change, Stafford University, Summer 2011, https://ssir.org/articles/entry/the_problem_with_fair_trade_coffee.

I’d say, as a general rule, there is a lot we need to do about slavery but I DO think that murky supply chain is a big part of the problem and if C.A.F.E. adds some transparency then I think that could be a benefit.

Kathryn,
I will say that I am not Pro-corporate in any circumstance. Starbucks employees are hard workers but they are by no means “worked like dogs.” As a person that used to work for one of the companies that supported the administration of their benefits, and a person that has had many friends work there intermittently (that would leave and then return because they missed it) I can speak with some authority on how well their employees are treated. I became an investor in the company because they have a strong business model and because they treat there employees and the customers well. Starbucks actually DOES pay their employees a decent (whereas many America owned companies do not) If I recall they also supported/ advocated for a minimum wage increase in WA State where they are based. Consider that at least 2% (probably quite a lot more) of all consumer goods that you purchase every day are products of slave labor and one of the ways to stop slave labor practices is to vote with your dollar. You are happily spending $5-10$ for a coffee where there are literally families subject to slavery conditions in Brazil that are may be making $14.00 a month. Consider doing some research yourself ( and not just reading one article) before you pop-off and call anyone else an idiot.