Global Exchange
October 22, 2001
Statement by Deborah James

On Friday Starbucks announced new programs related to Fair Trade Certified coffee, including the commitment to purchase 1 million pounds of coffee over the next 18 months. Global Exchange is pleased about any increase in the amount of Fair Trade Certified coffee purchased in the United States, as it means a direct and immediate improvement in the lives of farmers around the world. However, the announcement falls short of offering brewed Fair Trade coffee at least once a week at all store locations, a move that would prove a significant commitment to Fair Trade. The 1 million pound announcement still puts Starbucks, a company with over $3 billion in sales last year, far behind other industry leaders such as Equal Exchange, a $7 million company, which purchased over 1.2 million pounds of Fair Trade Certified coffee in 2000. And Starbucks' volume as a percentage of sales is still far below the industry minimum standard of 5% Fair Trade shared by almost every other of the 100 companies offering Fair Trade Certified coffee.

For the last two years, Global Exchange has been pressuring Starbucks to carry a significant amount of Fair Trade Certified coffee. In April of 2000 Starbucks announced it had signed an agreement with TransFair USA to begin offering Fair Trade coffee. As a result of this grassroots pressure, Starbucks began selling Fair Trade Certified whole bean coffee in over 2300 stores on October 4, 2000. Since then Global Exchange and a wide network of human rights and environmental organizations demanded that Starbucks commit to a larger volume by offering Fair Trade Certified coffee as its brewed "Coffee of the Day" at least once a week. Starbucks' new announcement fails to meet this demand.

While Starbucks slowly and slightly increases its Fair Trade Certified offerings, a crisis has enveloped the coffee industry which is threatening the livelihoods of coffee producers around the world. Tens of thousands of Mexican coffee farmers have fled their fields in search of incomes to feed their families. El Salvador recently acknowledged that over 30,000 jobs have been destroyed because of the price slump. Many of the 60,000 coffee producers in Nicaragua are facing losing their land because of mass indebtedness. Farmers in all three countries have taken to the streets to demand government support for farmers on the brink of starvation. Political unrest is brewing.

The coffee crisis gives new urgency to efforts to promote the alternative--Fair Trade. Fair Trade corrects market imbalances by guaranteeing a minimum price for small farmers' harvest, and encouraging organic and sustainable cultivation practices. Fair Trade farmer cooperatives are assured a minimum of $1.26 per pound. With a fair and stable income, coffee growers are able to invest in their families' health care and education. The Fair Trade system currently benefits 500,000 farming families in 20 countries. Consumers can purchase Fair Trade coffee at approximately 7,000 retail locations in the US.