Speaking of #FairTuesday" and Coffee..... next #FairChristmas,"#FairTradeChristmas"
Posted by Linda Edwards on
November 29,2016
It took me 22 minutes today to get a "pour over" cup of Fair Trade coffee at my local Starbucks in Richmond. The coffee was Italian Dark Roast, which is basically burned coffee beans.
There is more.
When you enter a Starbucks you may spend significant time finding the one or two Fair Trade certified coffees. On sight research by the author in 28 Starbucks in Thailand, British Columbia, Switzerland, Spain and the United States revealed the difficulty of obtaining a cup of Fair Trade coffee to drink on the premises. The responses to beverage requests included the following: “all of our coffee is fair trade;” “what is that?” - with the twist of the eyebrow by an untraine d clerk; “you have to buy a whole bag;” “you have to pay for eight cups;” “the price is more;” or “wait and we will French press you a cup.”
Entering “fair trade” in the search field at the Starbucks' website yields only results for the United Kingdom (2009). Drawing from the Starbucks website, the data speaks of the company’s announcement the company's support for small-scale coffee farmers (2009). Starbucks said this commitment means that 100% of the espresso coffee sold, both whole bean and espresso-based beverages, in Starbucks stores in the UK and Ireland were to become Fairtrade Certified by the end of 2009. Starbucks espresso-based coffees include its Cappuccino, Caffe Latte and other espresso-based beverages.
Starbucks said the UK and Ireland announcement was a part of a broader global commitment with the Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International (FLO). responsible for the development of global Fairtrade standards - that builds upon the organizations' shared history of support for small-scale coffee farmers. Seven years (2009) ago now Starbucks said that 100% Fairtrade Certified Espresso in the UK and Ireland forms part of a global plan that will mean Starbucks will become the largest purchaser of Fairtrade Certified coffee in the world, doubling its global purchases to 40 million pounds (volume), and delivering Fairtrade premiums for investment in community and business improvements by the small farmer organizations. Since 2009 there is no update of the 2009 Starbucks web statements.