TELL STARBUCKS WE WANT FAIR TRADE, NOT GREENWASHING

Organic Consumers

FAIR TRADE ALERT OF THE WEEK:TELL STARBUCKS WE WANT FAIR TRADE, NOT GREENWASHING Despite ten years of consumer pressure and small farmer pleading, Starbucks has stubbornly refused to increase their purchase of certified Fair Trade and Organic coffee to a respectable level. Although most Starbucks Customers (and many of their employees) believe the majority of Starbucks coffee is Fair Trade, to date, only 6% of Starbucks' coffee is certified Fair Trade. High quality certified Fair Trade and Organic coffee is readily available and is a concrete way that large corporations like Starbucks can support small-scale organic and sustainable coffee farmers abroad. http://www.organicconsumers.org/starbucks/index.cfm

1) Sign OCA's 2008 petition to Starbucks demanding that all espresso drinks be both 100% certified Organic and Fair Trade. http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/642/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=1267

2) Make a toll-free call to Starbucks' Customer Service Line and let them know how you feel! (800) 235-2883. Click here for a sample script.http://www.organicconsumers.org/Sbux/callstarbucks.htm

3) Sound off on My Starbucks Idea, Starbucks' public forum. We have an idea for you Starbucks, its called Fair Trade! http://www.mystarbucksidea.com/

4) Break the Chains. Find an independently owned café near you! http://delocator.net/index.php

Entire Towns Obtain Fair Trade Status

PlentyMag

Ama Kade harvests cocoa pods in Ghana. Kanya Osori grows rice in northeastern Thailand. Palemon Cuno Surco creates traditional Peruvian pottery in a small village near Cusco. They live thousands of miles away from each other, speak different languages and their cultures couldn’t be more different. But they do have something in common: people in Taos, New Mexico, and Media, Pennsylvania, want to buy their goods and pay them a fair price. So do the people in Amherst, Massachusetts, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. These communities are part of a small but growing group committed to supporting fair trade, so much so that they’ve gone through the steps to become recognized as Fair Trade Towns.