Buy more from Starbucks and they'll need to buy more that "11.5 pounds" for their whole corporation

FairTrade is more of a price guarantee than an addition to the price-farmers are guaranteed that their beans will be bought for at least $1.26 per/lb., and an additional 5 cents per/lb. will be added for "social and commercial development projects" which ends up going into the local government's hands.

Problem is, many places(like Starbucks) choose not to do this because they want consistency and are willing to actually pay more for it. At one point the market had "fairtrade" prices at an alltime low due to market conditions, yet starbucks farmers were making 5 times more to produce coffee. Starbucks paid far more than the average joe those years-it wasn't newsworthy because a corporation was doing a good thing. Of course, soccermoms come running in demanding fairtrade, so they sell it as a marketing angle, but it really has no redeeming quantities other than a pat yourself on the back marketing ploy.

Agreed. Could you or anyone else tell me for how much more than regular old coffee a cup of fair trade coffee retails?

At Shop Rite in Roxborough the price difference between a pound of Starbucks and a pound of Fair Trade coffee is about $0.30.

At Target Starbucks per pound costs more than Target's Fair Trade coffee by over a dollar a pound.

If you go on-line Starbuck's Estima which "is a product of the relationships formed between Starbucks and the farmers who grew them. Starbucks is committed to paying fair prices to help give farming families a better life and ensure coffee farms are protected for the future." Which may contain "Fair Trade" and/or coffee from their own C.A.F.E. program sells for $10.45 lb.

http://www.starbucksstore.com/produc...asp?SKU=486884

It cost the same as their Columbian:

http://www.starbucksstore.com/produc...asp?SKU=312899

__________________
If he ever had to eat his own words he'd die of malnutrition.
Colin P. Varga 1991

Starbucks has uses three different systems for buying coffee.

1. Fair Trade Certified

2. C.A.F.E.

3. none of the above

I believe what you have described above is not Fair Trade but Starbucks C.A.F.E. program which they run themselves with a company that they pay to oversee it. So yes this program is somewhat inefficient.

__________________
If he ever had to eat his own words he'd die of malnutrition.
Colin P. Varga 1991

This is difficult to say because Starbucks makes a cup of coffee with 2 tablespoons of coffee and the general rule is to use 1 tablespoon.

__________________
If he ever had to eat his own words he'd die of malnutrition.
Colin P. Varga 1991

Church Groups Espouse Fair Trade

Religious organizations are spreading the fair trade gospel to their congregations, and even investing in some like-minded enterprises

http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/...617_910774.htm

__________________
If he ever had to eat his own words he'd die of malnutrition.
Colin P. Varga 1991

Paying twice as much for bad coffee means I'm making a difference w/out actually having to do anything. It also allows me to say "Sorry, but I only buy Fair Trade. Some of us actually care about poor people."