Introduction:Starbucks has announced that it will not renew its Fair Trade certification, instead adopting its own C.A.F.E. Practices as the procurement standard, sparking industry discussions on the protection of coffee farmers' rights. This article provides an in-depth analysis of Starbucks’ history of collaboration with Fairtrade International, the actual content of C.A.F.E. Practices, and external scrutiny regarding its transparency, helping readers understand the shifting trends in ethical coffee sourcing globally.
Recently, Starbucks announced that it will not renew its contract with Fairtrade International, meaning that coffee products sold in its global stores will no longer carry the Fair Trade certification label. This move has immediately drawn public attention, with questions raised about whether Starbucks can still uphold its ethical sourcing commitments to the coffee industry. Starbucks emphasized that it will instead rely on C.A.F.E. Practices, jointly developed with Conservation International, and independently audited by third-party agency SCS Global Services.
Notably, although Starbucks has ended its partnership with Fairtrade International, it has planned an alternative solution to continue promoting the system known as “Coffee and Farmer Equity Practices” (C.A.F.E.). This set of practices was developed in collaboration between Starbucks and the environmental non-profit organization Conservation International, aiming to enhance the sustainability of the coffee supply chain.
However, with the disappearance of Fair Trade certification, many groups have begun to worry that C.A.F.E. Practices, without independent third-party oversight, can truly safeguard the rights of coffee farmers at the implementation level—especially on core issues such as minimum purchase prices and procurement from smallholder cooperatives. Fairtrade International originally required purchasers to pay a minimum price and an additional Fairtrade premium, but C.A.F.E. does not explicitly commit to the same standards.
Starbucks’ partnership with Fairtrade International dates back to the year 2000, and the two parties reached two significant agreements in 2010, with Starbucks investing over $14 million to provide loan support to farmers from Fair Trade-certified cooperatives. During this period, the coffee beans used by Starbucks mainly came from Fairtrade International-registered cooperatives, democratically operated grower organizations, and associations.
It was during this period of collaboration that Starbucks introduced C.A.F.E. Practices in 2004, with the goals of promoting environmentally friendly farming methods, ensuring fair compensation for coffee farmers, improving working conditions, and enhancing supply chain transparency. The practices were originally an extension of Starbucks’ approach to the Fair Trade partnership model, but now, as the main procurement standard, they have raised considerable skepticism.
Critics have pointed out that C.A.F.E. Practices do not require purchasers to pay a “minimum coffee bean price,” which is a significant difference from Fair Trade standards. In addition, Fair Trade emphasizes that coffee beans must come from cooperatives formed by smallholder farmers, but C.A.F.E. does not list this as a necessary condition. In response, a Starbucks spokesperson stated that C.A.F.E. is not unilaterally established by Starbucks but was co-developed with Conservation International and independently verified by SCS Global Services. It has been continuously implemented since 2004 and is a rigorous program.
Regarding concerns about audit transparency, Starbucks stated that in the future, audits will be conducted by SCS Global Services, a well-known third party in the field of environmental and sustainability certification, and that Starbucks has closely collaborated with SCS in recent years on its environmental initiatives. However, some observers still believe that the lack of independent oversight by Fairtrade International may affect the enforceability of C.A.F.E. Practices.
In fact, this is not the first time Starbucks has adjusted its stance on ethical sourcing policies. In 2015, Starbucks pledged that by 2020, all egg-containing food products sold in its global stores would use cage-free eggs, but later revised the policy so that only company-operated stores would follow this standard, leaving approximately 40% of franchise stores outside the regulation.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
