-Caveat Lector- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/"> </A> -Cui Bono?- ----- Original Message ----- From: Deborah James <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Posting A16 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, March 07, 2000 7:39 PM Subject: [a16-international-planning] Starbucks - April 13 Fair Trade National Day of Action April 13 National Fair Trade Day of Action - Demand that Starbucks Go Fair Trade! Join Global Exchange to launch a new campaign to promote the first Fair Trade Certified product in the country by organizing community campaigns to pressure the gourmet coffee industry leader, Starbucks, to go Fair Trade. Coffee is the second largest traded commodity (after oil) and it is the only product in the country with an independent monitoring and certification system for Fair Trade. In the aftermath of Seattle, Americans are demanding Fair Trade Not Free Trade now more than ever. Fair Trade means a fair economic exchange between Northern importers and Southern organized workers based on producers getting a living wage for their work, environmentally sustainable production, and other social criteria. This is an historical opportunity to challenge Ofree trade¹ advocates with our own developed system of Fair Trade and make the industry leader, Starbucks, sign on!! We are building a coalition of grassroots activists, churches, educators & students, labor unions, environmentalists, and anyone who cares about social justice to be part of an grassroots education team to increase demand for Fair Trade coffee in our own neighborhoods. There are currently over 20 campuses nationwide involved in campaigns to bring Fair Trade to their communities. NOW is the time to pressure Starbucks, the gourmet coffee industry leader ($1.7 billion in revenues in O99), to pay coffee farmers a living wage (a minimum of $1.26 per pound). Our demands: Offer your customers the choice to buy Fair Trade Certified coffee in every one of the 2300 stores nationwide, and implement your Framework for Action (Code of Conduct). We are asking Fair Trade supporters across the country to endorse and participate in the National Day of Action for Fair Trade on April 13 as part of the national Mobilization for Global Justice in Washington DC. Participate in the national launch through the following activities: -Demonstrations across the country -A national sign on letter, to be circulated for endorsements -Demonstrations in DC as part of the Mobilization for Global Justice -Educational forums on Fair Trade in DC -DC Congressional visits which will make the connection between our government's failure to promote Fair Trade policies and the burgeoning citizen's movement in support of Fair Trade. For more information please check out www.globalexchange.org/economy/coffee We are asking all organizations that support Fair Trade to participate. Step 1 ___ YES! We ENDORSE the Fair Trade Action campaign. Step 2 ___ YES! Add our name to the SIGN-ON letter for Starbucks. Step 3 ___ YES! We will be there in DC and support this action. Step 4 ___ YES! We would like to ORGANIZE a demonstration in our local community. Step 5 ...... Starbucks agrees to sign on to Fair Trade Certification! Name: Title: Organization: Address: CitySTZip: Email: Phone: FAX: Please return to: Deborah James Fair Trade Director, Global Exchange [EMAIL PROTECTED] 415.255.7296 ext.245 415.255.7498 fax 2017 Mission Street San Francisco, CA 94110 *********************************************** *********************************************** April 13, 2000 Open Letter To Starbucks Dear Howard Schultz, We, the undersigned organizations, represent a diverse group of environmental and economic justice organizations, churches, unions, consumer groups, and others who are concerned about the trade issues in general and the wages and living conditions of coffee farmers in particular. We are writing to strongly urge that you purchase coffee that is Fair Trade Certified. About half of all coffee worldwide is produced by small farmers. These farmers own and farm their own small plots of land, but have little to no control over the export system for their coffee. Free trade in the coffee industry means farmers generally receive between $.30-50 per pound of coffee that retails for as much as $10-12 per pound in gourmet coffee markets, including those of Starbucks. Small farmers working without the benefit of an organized export cooperative are forced to sell to exploitative middlemen who generally pay them less than half of the export price. This export price is based on the New York "C" Contract spot price and is usually around $1 per pound, but fluctuates wildly. Fair Trade seeks to correct these imbalances by setting a minimum price per pound a living wage. This international Fair Trade price, $1.26 per pound, is set by the Fair Trade Labeling Organizations International (FLO) which includes representatives of farmer cooperatives. When market prices are below $1.26 per pound, as they have been for most of the last decade, the farmers still get the minimum price - a living wage. Rather than operating on a charity model, where donations are made based upon net profits of a company, Fair Trade changes the entire business model to include fair wages for workers as an integral part of the business arrangement. TransFairUSA is the national monitor that certifies importers and roasters here in the US. They are the US branch of the FLO, which includes monitors from 17 different countries. The International Fair Trade Registry certifies over 300 cooperatives in 20 different producer countries, representing over 550,000 farmers worldwide. Fair Trade means health, education, community development, and economic justice for farmers around the world. In the post-WTO climate, more people are demanding that corporations pay living wages to ALL who make their products, whether or not they are directly employed by the company. After years of sweatshop exposes and increased global labor struggles, most people in this country would rather buy a product produced under fair trade conditions than sweatshop labor conditions. Sweatshops can occur not only in the factory but also in the field. According to recent consumer study, 78% percent of consumers would rather purchase a product associated with a cause about which they believe, and 54% say that they would pay more for a product that supports their cause. A consumer study by TransFairUSA in 1997 revealed that 49% of specialty coffee drinkers surveyed said they would buy Fair Trade coffee. With regards to the treatment of coffee workers, a recent study by the Commission for the Verification of Corporate Codes of Conduct, only half of the workers on coffee plantations in Guatemala earn the minimum wage of $3/day mandated by Guatemalan law. They found access to water, shelter, and education minimal; only 13% of children of plantation workers completed primary education. They found cases of armed repression of labor organizers seeking to improve wages for coffee plantation workers. Building one clinic or a couple of schools are good measures yet they do not address the basic need to pay workers a fair wage, allow them to freely organize, and universally implement a Code of Conduct that is independently monitored. Despite Starbucks attempts at developing a Code of Conduct and pilot implementation in Guatemala, conditions especially wages are not to acceptable levels for a company that is growing at a rate of more than one new retail store a day. Fair Trade also addresses important environmental issues that are important to consumers today. About 85% of Fair Trade Certified coffee is shade grown and either passive or certified organic. We believe that small farmers are the best stewards of the land, using traditional farming techniques. Paying farmers a fair wage for their crops with incentives for ecological practices is the best way to encourage sustainable farming. Starbucks is the largest retailer of gourmet coffee in the country. Your 1999 Annual Report shows revenues of $1.7 billion and profits of $164 million last year. Yet the farmers and workers who make you rich still earn poverty wages. They have not benefited from the Ogourmet boom¹. We strongly urge Starbucks to offer consumers the choice to buy Fair Trade Certified coffee (on an on-going basis) at every one of your over 2300 stores nationwide, plus your other retail sites, including 500 schools. We urge you to implement your Code of Conduct and have it independently monitored to ensure that all the coffee workers who pick your beans earn a living wage. Sincerely, Global Exchange xx xx xx *********************************************** *********************************************** Why coffee? As the world¹s second largest traded commodity (behind only petroleum), and with Americans spending $5.5 billion dollars a year on their daily cups of joe (one-fifth of the world¹s market), coffee provides an industry with huge potential for change. Coffee is the only product in the U.S. with a ten year old system of international independent monitoring and Fair Trade Certification. TransFairUSA is just now bringing this Fair Trade Certification to the United States. Many coffee farmers receive prices for their harvest which can be less than the costs of production, forcing them into a cycle of poverty and debt. Intensive coffee farming also leads to severe environmental problems, such as pesticide pollution, deforestation and the extinction of songbirds through habitat destruction. The Audubon Society has identified industrial coffee production as one of the major threats to songbirds and trees in the hemisphere. Why Fair Trade Certified? Fair Trade means an equitable and fair partnership between consumers in North America and producers in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Fair Trade coffee guarantees to poor farmers organized in cooperatives around the world: a living wage (minimum price of $1.26/pound regardless of the volatile market); much needed credit at fair prices; and technical assistance, such as transitioning to organic farming. These fair payments are invested in health care, education, environmental stewardship, and economic independence. Almost all of the Fair Trade Certified coffee is shade grown (protecting trees and songbird habitat) and organic. Fair Trade Certified coffee is the first product being introduced in the United States with an independently monitored system to ensure that it was produced under fair labor conditions; now we need a movement to demand it!! Fair Trade Certified coffee and global democracy In the post-WTO climate, more people are demanding that corporations must pay living wages to workers around the world, and that Fair Trade policies represent free trade abuses. After years of sweatshop exposes and increased global labor struggles, most people in this country would rather buy a product produced under fair trade conditions than sweatshop labor conditions. Fair Trade provides a sustainable alternative to corporate free trade practices. Bringing Fair Trade Certified coffee to our communities to replace corporations like Starbucks and Folgers is an important step towards replacing environmentally & socially exploitative production with sustainable development practices and decorporatizing our communities. Fair Trade practices are environmentally sustainable, fair, and worker-organized - all of which are essential components of a democratic global economy. *********************************************** *********************************************** Starbucks Frequently Asked Questions Q: According to Starbucks' Framework for Action, Starbucks says it's helping small farmers through "providing better access to processing facilities and markets, and technical assistance to improve quality and productivity". Isn't that enough? A: Providing technical assistance helps but it is no substitute for fair wages. Fair Trade Certification guarantees the farmers a minimum price of $1.26 per pound--the internationally recognized fair price for coffee. It also guarantees credit, which is vitally important to small producers with no access to credit. With the money that farmers earn from making a living wage for their coffee, they invest in their own community development--far more empowering and efficient than having it done by foreign aid groups. Buying Fair Trade coffee is a simple, easy thing Starbucks can do on a daily basis to promote fairness for farmers around the world. Q: Starbucks has said that it is "exploring the possibility of purchasing coffee meeting fair trade standards." Isn't this what you want? A: Starbucks need to make an immediate commitment offer Fair Trade coffee to its customers and then do what is necessary to implement that commitment. Starbucks made statements as far back as its shareholder meeting in February of 1998 that it was "exploring the possibility". As of our meeting with them on February 14, 2000, they refuse to make a concrete commitment, always deferring to the quality issue and asking us to be patient. When Starbucks wants to open a new store, it doesn't wait around three months for a good lease option to knock on its door; it aggressively searches out the best option and moves quickly. We demand the same aggressive commitment to Fair Trade for coffee farmers. Q: Starbucks says it will begin buying Fair Trade coffee when it finds coffee that meets its quality standards. Is Fair Trade coffee available that meets Starbucks' standards? A: Starbucks is using the quality issue as a smokescreen for their lack of a solid commitment to Fair Trade. We must continue to see through this line of reasoning and realize that if Starbucks had the will, they could easily find coffee that meets their standards of quality. They will keep using this smokescreen until consumers make it clear that Starbucks must commit to Fair Trade. There is nothing about paying farmers a living wage that decreases the quality of coffee. On the contrary, farmers paid a living wage are better stewards of the land, better able to tend their crops, and on average produce higher quality coffee than that produced on large plantations. Fair Trade coffee is well-known for being some of the highest quality gourmet coffee in the international market. Q: Breaking news: I heard that Starbucks announced on February 17 that it was purchasing 75,000 pounds of coffee from Fair Trade sources. Isn't this a great first step? A: For a retail chain with more 2,300 cafes nationwide, this is just a drop in the cup. Starbucks has to do much more if it is going to make a real difference in the lives of coffee farmers around the world. We are going to continue our nationwide, grassroots education campaign until Starbucks makes a real commitment to offer its all of its consumers the socially responsible choice of buying Fair Trade Certified coffee. An average of 30 lbs. per cafe is not a real commitment. Equally important, Starbucks also has not agreed to put the TransFair USA "Fair Trade Certified" seal even on this tiny amount. Without the seal, consumers have no way of knowing if the coffee they are buying was actually produced under Fair Trade conditions. Sadly, Starbucks' announcement seems only a public relations exercise. Nevertheless, we look forward to continue working with them. Q: Is there enough consumer demand for Fair Trade coffee? A: According to the 1998 Cone/Roper benchmark study, 78% percent of consumers would rather purchase a product associated with a cause about which they believe. 54% say that they would pay more for a product that supports their cause. TransFair's 1997 consumer study revealed that 49% of specialty coffee drinkers surveyed said they would buy Fair Trade coffee. In the post-WTO climate, more and more people are demanding Fair Trade products. Most people in this country would rather buy a cup of coffee picked under fair trade conditions than sweatshop labor conditions. Starbucks needs to offer its customers the choice to buy Fair Trade coffee in every one of its stores--over 2300 across the country. Besides, Starbucks commitment to farmers should not just be based on consumer demand but on fairness to the people who produce the product that made them rich. Q: Starbucks says it is doing more than any other major coffee company to improve conditions for coffee workers on plantations. A: With regards to coffee workers, they have done more than other major brands in the industrial coffee sector. They have built a few schools and clinics and convened a study of working conditions on plantations in Guatemala. But is that really enough for a company that opened 500 stores last year? In the mainstream coffee industry and the socially responsible business community Starbucks has an image as a socially responsible company. If Starbucks would like to continue this image, and not have it tarnished as the lead marketer of gourmet sweatshop coffee in the country, it had better start paying a living wage to coffee workers and offer Fair Trade Certified coffee. If Starbucks can open an average of 1-2 stores a day in the US, they can move a little more quickly to start paying fair wages to the farmers and coffee workers who made this company $1.7 billion in revenues ($164 million in profits) last year. As Stephen Coats of the US/Labor Education Project of the Americas states, Starbucks portrays itself as the industry leader with respect to quality and we are challenging it to be the industry leader with respect to justice for coffee workers. Q: Starbucks says they're working to "promote adherence to fair and equitable labor standards" on plantations which export to Starbucks. They say it's a complicated problem, with differences between regions and among countries. They say that if it were an easy problem they would have found a solution long ago. Is this true? A: Starbucks, like most coffee companies, purchases coffee from many different plantations, none of which it owns. This is similar to the way that garment manufacturers subcontract work to factories in foreign countries. For years labor and corporate accountability groups have worked to make retailers responsible for the working conditions of their subcontracted factories. While coffee plantations may or may not grow their coffee specifically for Starbucks or any other coffee company, we must still demand that they take responsibility for the working conditions and wages paid to coffee workers on plantations that produce coffee that Starbucks purchases. Our demand is this: Implement the Code of Conduct you developed years ago. Pay coffee workers a living wage. $3 a day for a family of five is not a living wage. By its own admission, Starbucks has done nothing in coffee growing countries to ensure that workers are paid fair wages, although its own Framework for a Code of Conduct from October 1995 included fair wages as one of its important provisions. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ eGroups. The best way to communicate by email in a group. Start your own free email group! http://click.egroups.com/1/1885/3/_/314851/_/952490311/ eGroups.com Home: http://www.egroups.com/group/a16-international-planning/ http://www.egroups.com - Simplifying group communications <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soap-boxing! 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