to be outraged that a representative from Starbuck's..

[seeker]

...came to my dd's school as the main speaker in Fair Trade Fortnight??

Ermm...commercialisation gone mad!

However I do love Starbucks!

I hadn't realised their coffee was Fair Trade. I suppose it's fair enough really - a good example of how a huge corporation can still manage to trade ethically.

Give me the child, and I will give you the adult.

Why shouldn't they if they use fairtrade goods?

no I'm not sure of the problem either,

Well, apart from anything else, allowing the representative of a particular coffee/hot chocolate/muffin shop in town to talk to 1440 potential customers seems like free advertising to me!

And that's before you start thinking about whether a mega company like that is the best person to talk about business ethics.

So you wanted someone who wasn't a business person to talk about erm... business ?

So who should talk to the children about it? Tesco? They have Fair Trade coffee and chocolate.

Fair Trade is a business. Businesses use it. Business people are going to talk about it.

Or did you want the school to fly in one of the Fair Trade coffee growers?

No. I wanted someone who was committed to fair trade and not just jumping on the bandwagon, and who represents a company that does not perform what I consider unethical practices - like opening branches next door to independent coffee shops in small towns.

And who was not in a position to use the opportunity to advertize to 1440 teenage potential customers.

I don't like Starbucks coffee, but if they are fair trade then good for them. I don't think the kids will join a Starbucks cult or anything because of it.

Was it starbucks who refused to supply coffee to our troops in Iraq on the grounds that they disagreed with the war? Might be wrong so would genuinely like to know the answer if anyone knows.

Fair trade is going to be a lot more efective if large corporations are involoved (properly) rather than it just being the local fluffy-wuffy vegan shop.

These things are rarely one-way, so I don't think it unreasonable that starbucks might expect to get a little out of it. I'm sure smaller organisations would want to promote their credentials. No reason large one's shouldn't either.

I'm with you seeker. I've always thought their Fair Trade "credentials" totally at odds at their other business practices.

i know what you're saying about commercialisation but I dont think they are jumping on the bandwagon - they've been pro-fiartrade for years

The Starbucks/War thing was proved to be an urban myth

effective (sorry - my 'f's obviously jumped towards the end of the line)

at odds with

It happens.

You get Smith Klein Beechams doing the sanitry protection talk.

NatWest doing money management (ha ha ha after the whole RBS debarcle at the irony... although I'm sure the ladies who go to the schools aren't directly responsible )

etc etc.

Tis the way of the capitalist world. So YABU to be "outraged" as it is a waste of your emotions.

There is no such thing as business ethics. There is just business.

thank you ILovePlayingDarts. This is good to know cos I would have hated to add Starbucks to my list of things to boycott along with Cadbury and Nestle. At this rate I am going to be forced to go on diet and get skinny cos there'll be nothing left fo me to eat. Hope Ben and Jerrys don't do anything unethical!

saslou - there are (are were?) a few FT Ben and Jerry's icecream flavours available at one point,

My dd's year one class went to Nandos to learn about where food came from...

Mine went to Pizza Express and Waitrose for the same educational aim ....... (mind you, we live in Surrey so, to all intents and purposes, that is where food comes from )

Can't see the problem myself.

As for the whole idea that Starbucks puts independents out of business, good luck to them I say.

Starbucks are the only coffee sellers I trust 100% to give me decaff when I ask for decaff. Their staff are articulate, cheerful and they know the product inside out. Also, they offer skinny or soya milk options without looking at you as if you have two heads.

Independents who offer these services will have no threat from Starbucks.

The only cafe in my city with a queue out the door all weekend long (literally) is an independent - Loopy Lorna's in Morningside, Edinburgh. There's a Caffe Nero, a Costa and a Starbucks nearby but Loopy's packs them in to such an extent that they can charge £4 for a pot of tea for one and still have to fight the customers away.

I struggle to sympathise with these independents - if they offered a product on a par or better then Starbucks then they wouldn't lose business, imo.