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Tell Starbucks to Honor Their Commitments to Coffee Farmers

Target: Jim Donald, Starbucks CEO
Sponsored by: Oxfam America

Each year, coffee companies make billions of dollars. Starbucks alone earned almost $5.8 billion in net revenues during the first three quarters of 2006.

Yet, for every cup of coffee Starbucks sells, poor farmers in coffee-growing countries like Ethiopia earn only about $.03. Even worse, while Ethiopian farmers grow some of the finest name-brand coffees in the world think Harar, Yirgacheffe, and Sidamo they don't see the premium profits those names command among consumers.

With as many as 15 million Ethiopians dependent on coffee, Ethiopia wants to get its farmers more of what they deserve. The country's government has asked Starbucks to sign a licensing agreement that will allow Ethiopia to control the names of its coffee. That way, Ethiopia can help determine an export price that makes sure farmers see a larger share of the profits enabling them to feed their children, send them to school and get them better healthcare.

Ask Starbucks to sign the agreement giving Ethiopian farmers their fair share of coffee profits.

deadline: 10-25-2007
goal: 10,000

22,098
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This petition is now closed. Success! Starbucks and Ethiopia have finalized an agreement that ends their trademark dispute and brings both sides together in partnership to help Ethiopian farmers. This agreement has the potential to give these farmers a fair share of the profits for their world-renowned coffees. Congratulations! Keep up the good work!

Dear Jim Donald:

As a Starbucks customer, I'm concerned about your opposition to Ethiopia's right to own its coffee names. I am asking Starbucks to honor its commitment to farmers by signing an agreement with Ethiopia that recognizes the country's rights to the names of its coffees. If Starbucks and other companies sign such agreements, estimates suggest that Ethiopian's could see up to $88 million of extra income a year.

[Your comment]

Ethiopia ranks among the poorest countries in the world; more than 75 percent of its population lives on less than $1 per day. About 15 million people in Ethiopia depend on coffee to make a living, the majority of them growing their crop on small plots of about two and a half acres.

Meanwhile, coffee lovers pay up to $26 per pound for fine Ethiopian coffees because they're willing to pay for high quality and great taste. Ethiopian farmers, however, often earn just 5-10 percent of the retail value.

With this disparity in mind, the Ethiopian government launched a project to get legal ownership of its fine coffee names-Sidamo, Yirgacheffe, and Harar. By owning the names, Ethiopia will be able to occupy a stronger negotiating position with foreign buyers, capture a larger share of the market value associated with those names, and protect the reputations of its brand names. In a country with a per capita income of around $100 per year, that amount of money could have a profound impact on the lives of millions of Ethiopians.

As you know, Ethiopia approached Starbucks more than a year ago asking the company to lead by example and to discuss an agreement that would acknowledge Ethiopia's ownership of these names. So far, Starbucks has refused to sign the agreement, or even talk seriously about it with the Ethiopian government.

I want to see Starbucks do the right thing by the poor farmers who grow its coffee. I urge you to sign the licensing agreement and recognize Ethiopia's rightful ownership of its coffee names.

Sincerely,

[Your name]
[Address]

We signed the “Tell Starbucks to Honor Their Commitments to Coffee Farmers” petition!

# 350:

11:11 am PDT, Oct 27, Dave Tanton, Arizona
& cut back on that high fructose corn syrup while your at it.

# 349:

11:11 am PDT, Oct 27, Shawn Koester, California

# 348:

11:11 am PDT, Oct 27, M Shively, Ohio

# 347:

11:11 am PDT, Oct 27, Drew Cucuzza, Connecticut

# 346:

11:11 am PDT, Oct 27, Name not displayed, Arizona

# 345:

11:10 am PDT, Oct 27, Ellen Lewis, California
I have already known about Starbucks exploitation and have been boycotting them for years. Please join the fight and boycott!!!!

# 344:

11:10 am PDT, Oct 27, Robin Delapena, Illinois
I've known this among other disturbing facts about Starbucks for years. I will continue to boycott them and support small local coffeehouses until they make some serious changes.

# 343:

11:10 am PDT, Oct 27, Theresa Montrull, Colorado

# 342:

11:10 am PDT, Oct 27, Ginger Ikeda, Colorado

# 341:

11:10 am PDT, Oct 27, Cecilia Behrendt, Florida
Please share your profits with the Ethiopian farmers. It's the right and fair thing to do.

# 340:

11:10 am PDT, Oct 27, James Zizzo, North Carolina

# 339:

11:10 am PDT, Oct 27, Melissa Johns, Illinois
I've been boycotting you for years. Fine if you're greedy, just do the right thing. Make fair trades.

# 338:

11:10 am PDT, Oct 27, Noah Nelson, Virginia

# 337:

11:10 am PDT, Oct 27, Ita Kreft, California
3cts of $3 is 1%. I think the quality of the coffee beans is worth 50% of the coffee served. May be a 100% increase to 6cts per cup of coffee for farmers is still a good deal for Starbucks. I wait till than to visit S. again.

# 336:

11:10 am PDT, Oct 27, Victor Capriolo, Wisconsin
be fair!

# 335:

11:10 am PDT, Oct 27, Melissa Mazza, New Jersey

# 334:

11:10 am PDT, Oct 27, Morgan Hinton, Colorado

# 333:

11:10 am PDT, Oct 27, Name not displayed, Georgia
Dear Starbucks: Please do the right thing! Your bottom line will not suffer, as more and more potential Starbucks customers read of your intent to deal fairly with your coffee bean growers and exporters! A Starbucks Patron

# 332:

11:10 am PDT, Oct 27, Surya-Patricia Lane Hood, Arizona

# 331:

11:10 am PDT, Oct 27, Name not displayed, Louisiana
Corporate greed, cmon guys!

# 330:

11:09 am PDT, Oct 27, Harriet Schlesinger, Indiana

# 329:

11:09 am PDT, Oct 27, Katherine Markoulis, Arizona

# 328:

11:09 am PDT, Oct 27, Mary Zebell, New York
It's your present policy that prevents me and my family from ever going to StarBucks coffee shops. You have such power over these people's lives! My goodness - can't you be fair to these farmers and spread around some of your wealth to the neediest?

# 327:

11:09 am PDT, Oct 27, Arthur Kaltenborn, Ohio

# 326:

11:09 am PDT, Oct 27, Jessica Hudgins, Connecticut

# 325:

11:09 am PDT, Oct 27, Kyle Comanor, Washington

# 324:

11:09 am PDT, Oct 27, Lyle R. Page, Florida
I pay an outrageous price for a cup of your coffee because I enjoy its taste therefore I think it would be more than fair that you pass on some of that enormous profit to some of those who actually produce it!!!

# 323:

11:09 am PDT, Oct 27, Patricia Kotary, New York

# 322:

11:09 am PDT, Oct 27, Jean Cassilagio, California

# 321:

11:09 am PDT, Oct 27, JC OConnell, California
No more Starbucks until you stop the GREED!

# 320:

11:08 am PDT, Oct 27, Alice Kim, New York
This is why I stopped drinking your coffees for years. Stop being greedy. You have a choice to do the right thing. Please do.

# 319:

11:08 am PDT, Oct 27, Amy Quinn, Virginia
I wont buy their coffee uless they start paying a living wage to these farmers!

# 318:

11:08 am PDT, Oct 27, P Smouse, California
I do not, nor will I buy your product until such time as you mend your mercenary ways. I am also actively involved in fighting the permitting of new locations for your retail outlets.

# 317:

11:08 am PDT, Oct 27, Ellen Raider, New York
If you don't, I will discontinue my business with you

# 316:

11:08 am PDT, Oct 27, Leslie David, Virginia
I don't like Starbuck's coffee, but I'd buy it if they were giving more of their profits to the Ethiopian farmers.

# 315:

11:08 am PDT, Oct 27, Stacy Alexander, California

# 314:

11:08 am PDT, Oct 27, G. Matthews, California
Why must profits always come from the backs of the working poor.

# 313:

11:08 am PDT, Oct 27, Miwako Ota, California

# 312:

11:08 am PDT, Oct 27, Amy Leathers, Tennessee

# 311:

11:08 am PDT, Oct 27, Name not displayed, New Jersey
Hard work deserves fair pay!!

# 310:

11:08 am PDT, Oct 27, Robert Mitchell, Kentucky

# 309:

11:07 am PDT, Oct 27, Kryss P, Florida
I don't think that I can boycott the coffee that I love, but instead I will ask that Starbuck's does give back to the farmers, or I will cut my addiction down to ONLY 4 cups a week ;)(joke)

# 308:

11:07 am PDT, Oct 27, Elinor Frampton, Indiana

# 307:

11:07 am PDT, Oct 27, Roberta Sebastian, Florida

# 306:

11:07 am PDT, Oct 27, MATTHEW WYATT, California

# 305:

11:07 am PDT, Oct 27, Elizabeth Blum, Wisconsin

# 304:

11:07 am PDT, Oct 27, Donna Hamsher, Louisiana
THIS IS THE REASON THAT I DON'T SHOP STARBUCKS ...

# 303:

11:07 am PDT, Oct 27, Karen Peterman, Maryland

# 302:

11:07 am PDT, Oct 27, Adriana Meucci, New Jersey
i always buy at starbucks. i will stop buying your coffee and educate everyone i meet about how you are ripping off the poor. please rectify this problem.

# 301:

11:07 am PDT, Oct 27, Jan Rader, Ohio

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