Who knows about Starbucks? They aren't a fair trade organization, but does anyone know how much they exploit workers....exactly? My pal just got a job there and I need some serious info to convince him.
I don't see why it is so "cool" to go after Starbucks when there are much worse corporations out there, like Walmart for instance. At least Starbucks provides a nice cozy environment where one can go, not to necessarily buy coffee, but to sit and read, or study, or whatever. Walmart, on the other hand, apparantly has no problem tearing down a wooded area to plant one of their hideous Walmart kingdoms that often take up almost an entire city block. And all I ever see when I go into Starbucks is dreadlocked, pseudo-artist, hippy types. Either there are only a small percentage of hippies against Starbucks, or they're all hypocrites. Now where the fuck is my venti carmel macchiato, god damn it?
lol, nice wrap up, pressedrat. i don't know much about the company really, but their coffee beans are fucking expensive in the grocery stores and don't really taste all that great. i've only been in one actual shop and it seemed claustrophobic and kind of pretentious to me. i think they're trying to change their image by offering Fair Trade coffee options at some stores but it really seems like a half assed attempt to shut people up because only like, one percent of their hundred million pound coffee purchases per year fall into that category. people seem to hate them for that reason, and because like walmart, they put smaller, family owned and nonconglomerate coffee houses out of business. they started off as a little barista and then went mega and now seemed to just be fueled by greed, like most companies that really take off.
I know that they give benefits to even the part time employees. The coffee kind of sucks but its on the way...... my friend said it smelled like dog shit on fire, but it does work as a coffee should.
i don't know anything about the company. i do go there occasionally, and always feel kinda wierd paying four dollars for a cup of designer coffee, while surrounded by a bunch of pseudo intellectualist yuppies. but damn, their coconut creme frappucinos are good, lol.
They do sell a Fair Trade line, which is a big step ahead of most chain coffee places... and it began as a little shop in Seattle, didn't it? It hasn't always been a big corporation... the only reason that I never go is that I never have more than $10 at a time...
My school had a coffee tasting thing to see which coffee company would sell coffee at the school and I was so happy when a local company beat out Starbucks. The coffee is so much better and cheaper and it's organic.
Ok, I am uninterested in comparing starbucks to another corporation like Walmart who is a "bigger badder more exploiting corporation". Because another business is worse than another does not make the first less evil. Yes, you can sit in a comfortable atmosphere with other "dreaded pseudo hippy types" and feel great about it, but personally man, I don't feel comfortable in a coffee shop whose styrofoam coated cups are filled with the blood of the underpaid and overworked people.
I actually work at starbucks right now. I have worked there for a year. It has its good sides and it bad sides. The one I work at in Atlanta is the only one that's laid back around town. The benefits are good because you can work part time and still get medical and dental insurance. You also get one free pound of coffee or box of tea a week! The pay is not the best but I get around 60 bucks a week in tip money, so thats nice. They do some good for the environment. We recycle all our carboard and give the used cooffe grinds to customers to put in their gardens. I have never heard anything about the fair trade not really being fair trade. From what i know its legit. We also give rewards for people using personal cups instead of paper. They get ten cents off (I know not much) for bringing their own cup and then we gave them a free drink on earth day. The partners on earth day also cleaned out some river or lake but I had to work. However, starbucks is just another money hungry company that is closing down all the mom and pop stores around. I find myself going to Ihatestarbucks.com every few months.
"In my travels, I made an extraordinary discovery. You know, from the beginning of time, man has looked to the heavens and truly believes that the universe ends, right out in space. That's not true, I've seen the end of the universe, and it happens to be, in the United States, and oddly enough, it's in Houston, Texas. I know, I was shocked too. Imagine my surprise when I left the comedy club one day and walked into the block and there, on one corner, was a Starbucks, and across the street from that Starbucks, in the exact same building as that Starbucks, there was a Starbucks. I looked back and forth, thinking the sun was playing tricks on my eyes. But there was a Starbucks across from a Starbucks, and that, my friends, is the end of the universe." -Lewis Black
hehe... I love Lewis Black! I remember watching Cribs with Robbie Williams, and he looked out over this meadow by his house and was like, "It's a shame... I remember when it was all strip malls and Starbucks..." hehe.. I miss him.
Personally, I know nothing about their employment ethics. I do know I enjoy their coffee and tea. The one I go to is located inside Barnes & Nobles Booksellers, so I have my favorite bookstore and my caramel mocha coffee. Sometimes on the weekends they have a small folk rock trio that plays there.
yep, our B&N sells Starbucks too. Maybe they all do. A lot of people probably don't like B&N either, I have to admit I love going there. Before we had them, there was nothing like that store here. Now people hang out there all the time, and read, I say it's a good thing. Sorry, I didn't mean to stray from the topic. I went to the original in Seattle too. I do prefer one-of-a-kind shops though. There's a place here called "the Attic" they have coffee and used books, it's pretty cool. It's too hard to be a "role model" hippy...*sigh*
now, rat dear, if you're going to bring up the topic of fair-traded fruit, then you should be shopping at the co-op! there are alternatives to slave-and-sweatshop-produced goods: http://www.sweatshops.org to each their own, but my point is, there are alternatives, for those who want them. as far as starbucks and fair-trade are concerned, as a corporation they're a favorite target for complaints, even though they're often not as bad as they could be. it's just they're not as good as they could be, i'd say they're somewhere in the middle. yeah, they could sell a lot more fair-trade coffee on a more regular basis, but at least they sell it (and yes their fair trade coffee is certified, so it is really fair-traded) and have information available about fair trade. sure they could do better by say, switching exclusively to fair-trade, but the very fact that a chain the size of starbucks is even making a token effort and educating the public about fair trade issues is an important step in the right direction. we cannot underestimate that. and the fact that they give their coffee grounds for people's gardens and encourage people to use their own cup is awesome. i go to starbucks occaisionally, but usually i get my coffee at the spot, because it has more space for me to maneuver my kids in. do you know if they offer fair-trade coffee? it's worth looking into. but there are also the benefits to be weighed of supporting smaller, local shops over huge corporations, too, even if they can't afford benefits for employees or fair trade coffee. (i suppose i could get coffee at my co-op, because all their coffee is fair-traded, and often i do, but even i too have got to have my irish creme lattes once in awhile! mmm, caramel macchiato! yeah baby! ) edited to say, regarding B&N, i totally fucking despise B&N, because when they opened their huge store in pittsford, it forced the closing of the village green here in the city, which was a wonderful, large and independent bookstore that carried some really unusual books and media, especially zines. try to get anything like the late factsheet 5 or the boycott quarterly at B&N. i know the one in pittsford sure as hell doesn't carry stuff like that! i still shop there, though, because i have an educator's discount card and can save on my son's homeschool books - but still, i'd rather be getting them at the old village green!
There is nothing wrong with buying Starbucks coffee. They buy coffee from poor countries, which is good. Boycotting Starbucks won't help anyone. The problem with coffee is that a lot of new producers are appearing, such as Vietnam. They produce more cheaply and are driving world coffee prices down. This has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not Starbucks or your local shop buys the coffee.
I agree with you for the most part, Lizzie. Most of my fruit is indeed purchased from the farmer's market and is locally grown. Of course I understand that not all clothes are from sweatshops either. I was clearly generalizing, which I have been known to do in my writing. One thing I find ironic, though, is that many self-professed hippies and earth-mama types on this website buy a lot of their clothes from the once Hipforums sponsored Gypsy Rose catalogue. Do you know where these clothes are being made? Guatamala. Meanwhile, people are being charged upwards of $90 for some articles of clothing which supposedly often last no more than a few washings. These people are so concerned about someone seeing them suck down a latte, yet they buy their hippy clothes from a sweatshop. It's just too funny. Again, I am generalizing. This is limited to only certain people, not everyone is like that. I guess all I am saying is that there are much worse corporations to be pissed-off over than simply Starbucks. I have done a lot of research into this company and I am not all that fond of how they run things, but I have a much bigger beef with these retail chains popping up all over the place, tearing down wooded areas in the name of capitalism. I guess that's less about free-trade than it is capitalism in general, though.
They would build a Walmart in everyones backyard if they could. They just built two that are like a couple of miles apart from eachother. And right down my friends street. The street before was dead..you would never hear cars, you could only see trees and hear peace and quite. Now, you hear noise all the time. And the area looks horrible, just horrible. They just set their circus up and thats when all hell broke loose.