Starbucks is being sued for claiming its coffee is 100 percent ethically sourced, despite being supplied from farms with human rights violations on multiple continents.
On Wednesday, a lawsuit was filed in federal court in Washington DC on behalf of American consumers against the world’s largest coffee company for its “deceptive” marketing.
The lawsuit alleges that Starbucks knowingly sources tea and coffee from suppliers with “documented, serious human rights and labor violations,” while claiming in their marketing and packaging that they are 100 percent ethical.
Kenya, Guatemala and Brazil are some of the countries where Starbucks sources its products.
Guatemala is Central America’s second largest coffee exporter (after Honduras) and their arabica beans are a favorite of the American coffee giant.
A Starbucks spokesperson denied the allegations in the lawsuit when contacted by DailyMail.com, saying: “We are aware of the lawsuit and intend to aggressively defend against claims that Starbucks misrepresented its ethical sourcing obligations to customers.”
On behalf of American consumers, a lawsuit was filed in court in Washington DC on Wednesday against the world’s largest coffee company for its ‘deceptive’ marketing
The lawsuit alleges that Starbucks knowingly sources tea and coffee from suppliers with “documented, serious human rights and labor violations,” while claiming in their marketing and packaging that they are 100 percent ethical.
Kenya, Guatemala and Brazil are some of the countries where Starbucks sources its products
The legal action was brought forward by legal advocacy group the National Consumers League.
“On every bag of coffee and box of K-cups Starbucks sells, Starbucks announces its commitment to 100% ethical sourcing,” said Sally Greenberg, CEO of the National Consumers League.
“But it is quite clear that there are significant human rights and labor violations in Starbucks’ supply chain.”
“Over the past decade, investigative journalists and government officials have uncovered extreme abuses at the farms and cooperatives that supply coffee and tea to Starbucks,” Greenberg said.
‘These abuses range from Brazil, Guatemala and Kenya. Starbucks has had every opportunity to correct its ethical purchasing practices and update its CAFE Practices standards, but has failed to do so.
“At the same time, Starbucks has made its perceived commitment to ethical sourcing a key part of its brand identity and marketing.”
Starbucks officials told NBC in response to Wednesday’s lawsuit that the company is working with its farms.
“We take these types of allegations very seriously and actively engage with farms to ensure they adhere to our standards,” the statement said.
“Every supply chain must undergo regular re-verification and we remain committed to working with our business partners to meet the expectations set out in our Global Human Rights Statement.”
The lawsuit isn’t the first time Starbucks has faced accusations related to its agricultural partners. In 2020, it was alleged that children as young as eight were picking coffee beans on farms that supplied Starbucks.
An investigation by British TV Channel 4 found that the children worked about eight hours a day, six days a week in appalling conditions, with a daily wage not much higher than the price of a latte.
Conditions for workers on the Brazilian coffee farms Starbucks was associated with were described by them as ‘modern slavery’ Reporter Brazil.
Starbucks subsequently launched an investigation into the claims, saying it had “zero tolerance for child labor anywhere in our supply chain” and did not purchase from the farms in question during that harvest season.
“We will not do so until we can verify that they do not violate our ethical sourcing program,” Starbucks said at the time.
In 2020, it was revealed that children as young as eight were picking coffee beans on farms that supply Starbucks
According to reports, children worked approximately eight hours a day, six days a week in appalling conditions for a daily wage that was little more than the price of a latte
Starbucks is no stranger to scandals, as it recently faced a slew of controversies
Starbucks is no stranger to scandal, as it recently faced a slew of controversies.
Starbucks threatened to sue Starbucks Workers United, the union representing employees of the coffee conglomerate, for trademark infringement over the “Solidarity with Palestine!” of the union. tweet.
This was met with a backlash from pro-Palestinian supporters, including smashing windows at the coffee shop and calls to ‘boycott’ the business.
Thousands of Starbucks workers went on strike on the company’s busiest day of the year.
Starbucks baristas at 200 unionized locations went on strike in what was the largest work stoppage in their five-decade company history.
Starbucks Workers Reunited said: “Last year the workers went on strike. This year, after victories won by striking workers in various industries across the country, Starbucks employees are taking the rebellion to the next level!”