Fair Trade Coffee & Open Source Java Jun 24, 2008, 02 :15 UTC (0 Talkback[s]) (2545 reads) (Other stories by Michael Tiemann)
"When Starbucks grew from regional powerhouse to cultural phenomenon, there was one small problem: the coffee they sold did not jive with their brand. So much so that in 2000 they printed millions of pamphlets in the US explaining why it was that even though they really, really wanted to sell organic, shade-grown, fairly traded coffee, that due to lack of adequate supply, customers should be delighted that they were at least committed to finding a way to sell some fairly traded coffee somehow. Over time, Starbucks has offered more and wider varieties of fairly traded coffee, and while many fair trade NGOs continue to complain that Starbucks is not all the way there, they appear to be making progress (not without some back-and-forth). And as a customer who prefers Starbucks when traveling (quad grande latte, thanks) and who also feels strongly about fairly traded agricultural products, I do hope they succeed and succeed completely..."
