Starbucks to Sell Fair Trade Coffee

On April 10, 2000, just days before demonstrations planned in 30 U.S. cities to protest sweatshop-like conditions on coffee fields supplying America's largest gourmet coffee chain, Starbucks Coffee Company agreed to purchase fair trade whole bean coffee, certified by TransFair USA, for sale in 2,000 retail locations and on Starbucks' website. The fair trade system guarantees growers a minimum price and encourages organic and sustainable cultivation methods. "We believe that Fair Trade is the most powerful and direct way for customers to help improve the lives of coffee farmers and their families around the world," Paul Rice, executive director of TransFair USA, says. Starbucks says it will also expand its purchases of certified shade-grown and organic coffees.

- The Washington Post, 4/10/00; Starbucks and Global Exchange Press Releases, 4/10/00; Time, 4/17/00.