day of reconciliation
It will be quickly remembered that I began some type of anti-Starbucks front using the Collegiate Times as a sort of sounding board for my views and research. My few visits to the coffee corp. were solely for espresso-making hardware, which I continue to hail as some of the best I have laid hands on. Lately, though, I took a second look on my views and assessed whether my outcome was fully justified.
Oxfam’s Day of Action challenged Starbucks to answer questions about payments to suppliers. Starbucks responded, just as they did to my prodding, and I am very well impressed with their remarks. This is a similar type of response that I received from the VP of Corp. Social Responsibility to my CT pieces. Further Starbucks’ website detailing their responsibility and efforts is admirable. Lastly, the fact that they responded to Oxfam also using the YouTube medium was impressive - it’s great to see corporations take hold of outlets that some still perceive as sub-par, when reality proves the power of those resources.
Reconciliation, maybe? Not entirely. Yet, I applaud Starbucks’ efforts to support their supplier/farmer base, which truly makes their company. I do not applaud their domestic practices of cluster bombing competitors or their own cannibalization tactics, which I find to be some of many murky paths through a corporate corruption swamp that inevitably leave a clear mark. When it comes to buying coffee or coffee drinks, I do not consider Starbucks as a potential; their espresso is unimpressive and the atmosphere is similar to any other chain environment that I eschew.
Still, knowing a few bits more of their coffee-buying practices, my future coffee bean-buying will heed the fertility goddess, to an extent. It always comes down to location, to be sure. If a nice local coffeeshop is nearby, no hesitation would be evident in my decision to go in that direction. I will always prefer local.
But, this moderate change of heart is a far cry from an about face. I’m still fair-game for a good, old-fashioned Oxfam picketing if I were in the right mood, and if the sandwich board were stylish enough.
January 7th, 2007 at 2:33 pm
I took part in the Day of Action. It was pretty scary but I said everything I wanted to and the barista was nice about it.
I love the Oxfam green you have in the background on your page! Okay, I guess it’s not exactly Oxfam green but we can pretend.
January 7th, 2007 at 9:12 pm
I really like this post. I’ll never agree with the “cluster bombing” technique myself. Do we really need 4 or 5 of them in a 6 or 7 mile radius? Definitely not. I must admit, however, that if I do not find any local coffee shops in a given area, I will buy my tea from Starbucks. The taste usually isn’t much different in my opinion (though I don’t drink coffee), but the atmosphere and affordability of local places will always beat out the Starbucks alternative.