Citizens question Starbucks' social responsibility

Citizens question Starbucks' social responsibility
Tags: Coffee / Specialty Beverages
December 17, 2006

Seattle Post-Intelligencer: A guest columnist questions Starbucks' social responsibility efforts after the coffee company thwarted efforts by Ethiopia to trademark its most valuable coffee brands — Sidamo, Yirgacheffe and Harar. Ethiopia wants to own the trademarks so that its coffee producers can gain more leverage in the market and ultimately raise the incomes of the 15 million Ethiopians dependent on the coffee trade.

"Starbucks publicly opposes Ethiopia's trademarking project. Why? From a business perspective, the answer is simple: The Ethiopian brands are valuable assets and Starbucks wants to maintain de facto control," the columnist reads.