STARBUCKS MOVING SLOWLY
October 20, 1996 marked the one-year anniversary of the release of Starbucks' code of conduct. Yet there is little indication that the Starbucks Coffee Company has taken any concrete steps towards implementing its code which seeks to set minimum standards with respect to working conditions for the growers of Starbucks' coffee. So far, Starbucks has limited its work to preliminary exploratory conversations and hasn't even translated its code into Spanish. Starbucks agreed in February l99S to issue a code after a grassroots campaign initiated by US/GLEP.
When it revealed its code last October, Starbucks stated it would develop a strategic plan for implementation of its "coffee mission" and "focus on Guatemala in a manner that demonstrates a special commitment to innovative ways of implementing our coffee mission." These steps were to have been taken by October 1, 1996, and apparently have not yet been done.
US/GLEP recognizes that implementation of a code of conduct in the coffee sector is more eomplieated than in, say, the maquiladora sector, but is very concerned that Starbucks has done so little to move forward on the code.
Starbucks has received a tremendous amount of positive press coverage for issuing the code, and was the recipient earlier this year of an award for corporate responsibility given by the Council on Economic Priorities.
US/GLEP believes that it is time for Starbuclcs to "walk the talk" and is asking interested parties to encourage Starbucks to move more quickly towards concrete, implementation of its path-breaking code.
Coffee Congress Interested in Worker Rights
In September the Smithsonian Institute's Migratory Bird Center organized three-day conference on Sustainable Coffee. Three hundred participants representing growers, roasters, fair trade advocate and environmentalists wrestied with the basic question of how to establish criteria monitoring and marketing of coffee that is sustainable from both an environmental and social standpoint. There was support for social criteria that included respect for the the basic rights of workers. A follow-up conference is tentatively set for 1997.
* Contact Starbucks. Ask for a copy of the strategic plan for implementation in Guatemala of its coffee mission, including the code of conduct, and for a copy of the action plans for next year that the company promised to develop by October 1, 1996. Urge the company to move forward on implementation of its code.
* If your local media covered the Starbucks code story, do a follow-up letter to the editor, noting the one-year anniversary of the code. Note: We are not recommending a resumption of leafletting of Starbucks stores at this time. Howard Schultz, Chief Executive Officer, The Starbucks Coffee Company, P.O. Box 34067, Seattle, WA 98124-1067.
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