[SallyintNorth]

So, I got a cappuccino from Starbucks today.

Ordered a small one, that's £2.15 and would I like to try the new Guatemala coffee?  "Is it fairtrade?", I asked.  "Yes, of course, all our coffee is fairtrade."  "Okay, then, yes please."  Barista starts making the coffee then asks for £2.35.

I told him firmly that he was very naughty to not have told me that the Guatemalan would be an extra 20p when he offered me the choice but decided not to insist that he either supply the Guatemalan at £2.15, or switch my order to the regular coffee at £2.15.

While I waited for the drink, I read the packet labels.

Now the packets of the coffees we've all been drinking there for a while all have a paragraph about how Starbucks is fair to its growers, underneath which appears "CERTIFIED FAIRTRADE."  The Guatemalan and one other carry the same statements about being fair to farmers but do not have the "CERTIFIED FAIRTRADE" label.

Am I being cynical....?   

[bloomer]

according to the starbucks site all products will be certified by 2015, they treat all farmers according to the fair trade rules, but in some places it hasn't been possible to get certificated yet, mainly newer areas they are buying from..

[Bodger]

Weren't Starbucks one of the companies that were drawn over the coals a while back for paying little if any tax here in the UK? They sound like a company you could put some trust in.

[SallyintNorth]

Where did you find that, bloomer?

I can find a lot of words about 'ethical sourcing' and Conservation International, including the statement

By 2015 we aim to have 100% of our coffee certified or verified by an independent third party

- by which, judging by the stats of what they buy, they probably mean verified by Conservation International and do not mean certified Fairtrade. 

I am rather cynical, I think.  Starbucks went all Fairtrade when Costa got ahead of them on this point, but now they still say that all their coffee is Fairtrade when in fact it is not.  They wouldn't be the first company to get their brand associated with a certain ethical standard and then to switch their allegiance to a verification body which is less constricting...

[ellied]

Personally if offered a new one to try when ordering one at £2.15 I'd just hand over £2.15 and stare in disbelief if they tried to ask for more when they hadn't specified it at order.. I can do a hard stare when required and if there's a queue I also speak quite loudly aswell as taking up their time..     Usually works 

As for Fair Trade and similar, I've noticed a lot of coffee now "Rainforest Alliance" labelled and the implication is that it's equivalent to FT but just a different organisation.  Would be interested to know if the standards are similar and it's just competing labels, or whether one is a higher standard of fairness to the farmers than the other.  I won't buy one that doesn't have SOME label, even supermarket own brands manage some that do if you look..

[john and helen]

£2 for a cup of coffee buy a tassimo machine... i thought at 65p a cup i was ripping myself off ..mind you! it produces wonderful coffee

i would never pay £2 though...thats not fair in any trade

[honeyend]

The actual coffee costs about 7p and the cup and the lid about 7p or less, no wonder they make so much money

[colliewobbles]

Weren't Starbucks one of the companies that were drawn over the coals a while back for paying little if any tax here in the UK? They sound like a company you could put some trust in.

Yes they were - use Costa Coffee, all of theirs is Fair Trade

[Lesley Silvester]

I never go in Starbucks because of their tax avoidance. Besides, Costa do THE most delicious gluten free brownie.