Why Fairtrade coffee is still an issue
There's an article in the Guardian today about Starbucks' opposition to Black Gold, a film about the Ethiopian coffee industry. Ethiopia is trying to trademark three of its coffee lines, mostly to get a fairer price on the international market. Ethipoian coffee is some of the finest in the world, but the farmers get only a tiny fraction of the value of the coffee when it's exported - $1.10 when the coffee is sold for up to $160 as espresso. That's the coffee that is exported - most of it doesn't actually leave the country, because most small farmers either don't have access to markets (as the West Wing pointed out so trenchantly, no roads), or don't see export as worth their while.
With Starbucks trying so hard to be seen as an ethical retailer, I don't understand why they're working so hard to stop the trademarking process and opposing a film that doesn't even target them directly. Do they think people aren't going to find out about it? Their profit margins are so extremely high I'd think they could afford a little more for the premium coffee that they sell to their customers. Maybe they could take it out of their marketing budget.
Read the original article here
A paper on Starbucks' 'brand hypocrisy' - interestingly enough coming from the Said Business School
With Starbucks trying so hard to be seen as an ethical retailer, I don't understand why they're working so hard to stop the trademarking process and opposing a film that doesn't even target them directly. Do they think people aren't going to find out about it? Their profit margins are so extremely high I'd think they could afford a little more for the premium coffee that they sell to their customers. Maybe they could take it out of their marketing budget.
Read the original article here
A paper on Starbucks' 'brand hypocrisy' - interestingly enough coming from the Said Business School