Starbucks... Fair-trade?

    Small businesses are being clobbered by large businesses these days, and coffee is no exception. In the mid 1990's I went to a small coffee shop weekly in Houston. It had a wonderful space and made me feel at home. The menu was small but included some mixed coffee drinks that were original to that shop. There was a couch in the corner that I sat on, usually conversing with friends. We met there to study, but that usually did not last long, and we would talk about politics and/or play chess. I always loved the changing variety of local art on the wall. We had some great times there.

    That coffee shop is gone now, along with many others. In it's place is a "starbucks-style" coffee shop (part of a chain). The couch has been replaced with a large wooden bench with several small tables which have chairs on the other side. The art has been replaced with more expensive art which seems to change a lot less often. The customers are some college students (there is a college nearby) and business people , but mostly people dart in and out rushing to their next destination. The menu has changed to include drinks obviously fashioned after those that Starbucks carries. It is just not home any more, and is amazing how different it is.

     I confess that when I first heard of Starbucks, I was excited. The excitement soon faded as I saw the changes in "my" coffee house. In the late 1990's I started to learn about the plight of  coffee growing families and began to view Starbucks as the "Walmart" of coffee shops. Original coffee shops are harder to find now. Though Starbucks to my knowledge treat their domestic workers well, they are profiting off the backbreaking work of coffee growers who are struggling to make ends meet.

    Starbucks is now fair trade certified... well they carry one fair trade blend (to my knowledge), a very small percentage of their total sales. In fact it is so small one can argue that Starbucks only made the decision as a marketing move, not one born out of true concern for the people who grow their coffee.  Now Starbucks drinkers can go on drinking their coffee thinking that they are supporting an ethical company... even though the coffee they ARE drinking is not fair trade. The Fair Trade coffee market was growing and, in my opinion, Starbucks wanted a piece of the action. I bought one bag of their fair trade coffee to say thanks, and got over my "complete objections" to stepping into their businesses,  so I guess they achieved their goal. This is the knot in my stomach.

    On the other hand I am a fair trade advocate... and though I would love to see those who built their business on an ethical business model replace the large corporations, I also realize that this is not very feasible (at least in the short term).  People are suffering now, and when large companies, with questionable motives get involved, the market grows. In the end this helps the growers due to the fair trade model they had to follow to get the label from Transfair. Starbucks did not take me away from small fair trade businesses, and chances are that it did not take other committed customers away either. What it did do is increase the fair trade market, by introducing fair trade to those who may not have been aware of it in the first place. I do not like them as a company, since on a personal level I feel that they have high jacked the the pure intentions of many people in the fair trade movement. However, isn't this better than them ignoring us and sidelining our views?

    Yes, you've got it... I'm torn, but I have decided that I will try to report on all the action in the fair trade movement. The last paragraph will explain why I don't think Starbucks is a threat to Faircoffee.com.

    I was not impressed with the coffee beans I bought at Starbucks, I have always thought it was like a middle of the road gourmet grocery store coffee, though I admit I have not bought this product in several years. I don't know how long it sits on the shelf after it is roasted and I believe (though I'm not sure) that it is roasted in much larger batches than the fair trade specialty roasters we carry and support. So in my mind we are not competing with Starbucks since our coffee is fresher... and in my opinion just tastes better. However my opinion is probably influenced by the bitterness I have for their company. For professional non-biased opinions of coffee when it is fresh roasted, go to coffeereview.com. Fair trade coffees are doing quite well.