Many of the Starbucks stores post a sign which reads, 'Starbucks: Drink Deeply, Relax, and Be Inspired.' We are invited to 'kick back' and un-stress. On its website and in brochures, the corporation presents itself as socially responsible and green. But to what extent does Starbucks provide us with a deep drink, relaxation, and inspiration?
a personal journey by Gene C. Sager Starbucks chief Howard Schultz has said he would like his stores to be our 'third place,' after home and work. Starbucks would be a third place where we can 'chat and connect.' Is Schultz serious, or is this just rhetoric—nice sounding talk that perpetuates a myth? I have chatted and connected in kissaten (Japanese coffee houses) where customers enjoy three stories of comfortable seating; in such a place, people do feel like lingering for hours. But Starbucks has not created an atmosphere where we feel like chatting and connecting. Rather the stores are coffee convenience stores. Starbucks is fast drinks to go. Our on-the-go culture thrives on a quick fix, always the same product and same atmosphere—a clone store. We can count on it to be the same everywhere, just like our Shell station and our McDonalds. The stores provide no respite from the on-the-go, all-the-same convenience culture that has come to define us. If relaxing in the 'third place' is a laughable myth, what about the inspiration provided by Starbucks’ social and environmental responsibility? The corporation’s public pronouncements clearly emphasize these responsibilities, and they show an awareness of buzz words, such as 'post consumer recycled and 'CO2 equivalents'. Also lauded is the corporation’s contributions to traditional philanthropic benefits such as health clinics, schools, and housing projects here and in foreign countries. And Starbucks want to know what people think: 'How are we doing?' as they say. I seized the opportunity to let them know. The most important responsibility of large corporations concerns the way they affect fundamental economic and environmental patterns on a global scale. So how is Starbucks doing? Their published fiscal report says they were 'planning to roll out new hot beverage cups containing 10% post consumer recycled fibre in U.S. stores by the end of 2005.' [this target now amended to 'by 2006'] Soon we will be juggling 10% recycled cups. But given the vast amount of fibre involved and the importance of this issue, 10% is pitifully low. Percentages of post-consumer fiber in most of the other paper products used by Starbucks are also low. The exception is the brochure - Starbucks Commitment to Social Responsibility, where they detail ideas about responsibilities to communities and the environment - which hardly anyone picks up, unlike the mass-produced coffee cups. Another case in point is switching from non-renewable to renewable energy sources. The United States Department of Energy has a green power network which encourages and assists corporations who want to purchase renewable power. Plenty of renewable energy is available. However, Starbucks says it will only purchase 5% of its retail energy from renewable resources. What about fair trade policies? Starbucks says it buys fair trade coffee. I wanted to support Starbucks in this worthy cause, so I asked the barista for a cup of fair trade coffee. She replied that Starbucks prefers to call it Café Estima. 'O.K., I’ll have a cup.' But it turns out that Café Estima is only available in bags, some with whole beans, some ground. Starbucks stores and some supermarkets sell the beans, but the reality is that people think of Starbucks coffee as a fresh brew ready to drink - 95% of the customers buy a hot cup and leave. Starbucks claims that Café Estima is sometimes available as the hot brew of the week, but thorough surveys show it just isn’t so. Across the US, internet surveys like that reported by L.A. Green Girl reveal that Café Estima is rarely available in a hot cup. Starbucks’ own statistics indicate how much fair trade coffee they buy: l.6% of their total coffee bean purchases are fair trade. Starbucks purchases a small amount of fair trade beans from some growers, roasts them, and bags them - but hardly anyone buys them. For all practical purposes, Starbucks is not engaged in fair trade. When I first heard about Starbucks, a friend told me the chain was a green corporation with a conscience. Hearing this, I suppose I formed a myth in my mind. I imagined I could go to Starbucks and relax, finding it spacious enough and quiet enough to linger. I assumed I would be drinking from a ceramic mug or a paper cup made mostly from post-consumer recycled material. I imagined the coffee would be brewed with energy from renewable sources. I thought I would be inspired because the coffee would be fair trade coffee. Having dispelled these myths, I am 'dis-illusioned' in both senses of the word—free of illusions and saddened by my findings. But one avenue of hope has been opened by Starbucks - it professes to care about what we think. So we should boycott the Big Star and let them know why. Starbucks is big and strong. Its large profits can take a setback while its directors decide what the term 'social and environmental responsibility' really means.
a personal journey by Gene C. Sager Starbucks chief Howard Schultz has said he would like his stores to be our 'third place,' after home and work. Starbucks would be a third place where we can 'chat and connect.' Is Schultz serious, or is this just rhetoric—nice sounding talk that perpetuates a myth? I have chatted and connected in kissaten (Japanese coffee houses) where customers enjoy three stories of comfortable seating; in such a place, people do feel like lingering for hours. But Starbucks has not created an atmosphere where we feel like chatting and connecting. Rather the stores are coffee convenience stores. Starbucks is fast drinks to go. Our on-the-go culture thrives on a quick fix, always the same product and same atmosphere—a clone store. We can count on it to be the same everywhere, just like our Shell station and our McDonalds. The stores provide no respite from the on-the-go, all-the-same convenience culture that has come to define us. If relaxing in the 'third place' is a laughable myth, what about the inspiration provided by Starbucks’ social and environmental responsibility? The corporation’s public pronouncements clearly emphasize these responsibilities, and they show an awareness of buzz words, such as 'post consumer recycled and 'CO2 equivalents'. Also lauded is the corporation’s contributions to traditional philanthropic benefits such as health clinics, schools, and housing projects here and in foreign countries. And Starbucks want to know what people think: 'How are we doing?' as they say. I seized the opportunity to let them know. The most important responsibility of large corporations concerns the way they affect fundamental economic and environmental patterns on a global scale. So how is Starbucks doing? Their published fiscal report says they were 'planning to roll out new hot beverage cups containing 10% post consumer recycled fibre in U.S. stores by the end of 2005.' [this target now amended to 'by 2006'] Soon we will be juggling 10% recycled cups. But given the vast amount of fibre involved and the importance of this issue, 10% is pitifully low. Percentages of post-consumer fiber in most of the other paper products used by Starbucks are also low. The exception is the brochure - Starbucks Commitment to Social Responsibility, where they detail ideas about responsibilities to communities and the environment - which hardly anyone picks up, unlike the mass-produced coffee cups. Another case in point is switching from non-renewable to renewable energy sources. The United States Department of Energy has a green power network which encourages and assists corporations who want to purchase renewable power. Plenty of renewable energy is available. However, Starbucks says it will only purchase 5% of its retail energy from renewable resources. What about fair trade policies? Starbucks says it buys fair trade coffee. I wanted to support Starbucks in this worthy cause, so I asked the barista for a cup of fair trade coffee. She replied that Starbucks prefers to call it Café Estima. 'O.K., I’ll have a cup.' But it turns out that Café Estima is only available in bags, some with whole beans, some ground. Starbucks stores and some supermarkets sell the beans, but the reality is that people think of Starbucks coffee as a fresh brew ready to drink - 95% of the customers buy a hot cup and leave. Starbucks claims that Café Estima is sometimes available as the hot brew of the week, but thorough surveys show it just isn’t so. Across the US, internet surveys like that reported by L.A. Green Girl reveal that Café Estima is rarely available in a hot cup. Starbucks’ own statistics indicate how much fair trade coffee they buy: l.6% of their total coffee bean purchases are fair trade. Starbucks purchases a small amount of fair trade beans from some growers, roasts them, and bags them - but hardly anyone buys them. For all practical purposes, Starbucks is not engaged in fair trade. When I first heard about Starbucks, a friend told me the chain was a green corporation with a conscience. Hearing this, I suppose I formed a myth in my mind. I imagined I could go to Starbucks and relax, finding it spacious enough and quiet enough to linger. I assumed I would be drinking from a ceramic mug or a paper cup made mostly from post-consumer recycled material. I imagined the coffee would be brewed with energy from renewable sources. I thought I would be inspired because the coffee would be fair trade coffee. Having dispelled these myths, I am 'dis-illusioned' in both senses of the word—free of illusions and saddened by my findings. But one avenue of hope has been opened by Starbucks - it professes to care about what we think. So we should boycott the Big Star and let them know why. Starbucks is big and strong. Its large profits can take a setback while its directors decide what the term 'social and environmental responsibility' really means.
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