“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…”