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Reading Current Events

I picked up some literature from my local Stabucks today. It's titled, "Starbucks Commitment to Social Repsonsibility:Striking a Balanance".

Highlights of the brochure are:

Paying premium prices for coffee and supporting coffee growing communities

This means Starbucks pays prices 74% higher than they are required to under the CAFTA (Central American Free Trade Agreement) and other similar US trade agreements that favor large US corporates like Starbucks. As well as funding schools and medical facilities in these areas.

And their latest project "Ethos water" where every bottle sold benefits efforts for clean water in developing countries.

Offering part-time workers healthcare benefits

I'm not sure this is true everywhere, but in the US you can get health insurance for working just part-time. That's almost unheard of anywhere else. I'm not sure it's a great plan, but it's something.

Thinking Green

Basically they use recycled paper, recycle their waste packaging etc, and local stores offer gardern fertilizer made from the coffee grounds during the local growing season.

Hiring Diversity

Starbucks hires diversity not only at the entry level, but also at the corporate level. This year 13% of the executive staff are people color.

So the first time I read this my initial reaction was, "Whatever! Who trusts the largest trendy company in America?" But that would explain the extra cost of their products. So maybe Starbucks can be trusted. Granted, they still want to take all your money, but at least they're using a token of it to do some decent work.

This doesn't change how often I'm going to frequent Starbucks, but I'm probably going to apply there for the health insurance. :)

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Sounds like the reading material from Mc Donalds. They are doing alot of the same kinds of things.
And it's all under the heading of "Being socially responsible"

I tend to think of it as another yuppie thing, like suv's and other things that are ment to show how much we really care, but in truth, it's still corporate. And it's still way over priced.

I think it would be far more bennificial if all people who worked in management of any kind spent time at the low end of things having to live on what the avarage person makes.
It might make things a bit different when big companies do what they do.
does that make sense?

It only looks that way because your standing on your head.

I prefer the cheap Caravan coffee myself. The kind the restaurants buy in bulk.

I don't like dunkin donuts coffee either, who ever is familiar with that.

Not that any of that has anything to do with social responsibility.

And another thing... Anyone ever have Erba Matte (like most things I think my spelling is off) I had it while I was in Argentina, very good tea.

"Boredom is the Ultimate Gateway Drug"- Atheist_Uprising

This post was edited by Atheist_Uprising on Dec 20, 2005.

Anyone ever have Erba Matte

Yeah, I've had it. I like the social aspect way more than the flavor though. The server fills the cup and grounds with fresh water, and everyone drinks a whole serving from the same cup.

It's a different upper than coffee or cigarettes. Really good for sitting around and telling stories late into the night.

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I've heard of that. A friend of ours told us about this group of people he spent sometime with and they did this thing.

The youngest memeber of the group serves the drink, it's in this cup and they pour hot water over it, and then they serve it.
The youngest memeber, or newest memeber is the last to drink from the cup.

I had no idea what it was called.

It only looks that way because your standing on your head.

When I had Erba Matte it was served in a gourd. I'm told that depending on the type of gourd you get different flavors because the different varieties of the tea soak into the sides of it.

I bought one but it was a cheap version and the metal straw didn't do a good job of filtering out the leafs.

"Boredom is the Ultimate Gateway Drug"- Atheist_Uprising

I love yerba mate. Its like the coffee boost without the bad breath ;) Its actually got tons of antioxidants and other various good-for-you properties.

We should of brought a bag of rocks....