America Runs on Fair-Trade Dunkin'
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 08. 2.07
Dunkin' Donuts has never broadcast the fact that all its espresso, cappuccinos, and lattes are 100 percent-certified fair trade. Till now, that is, if you can call placing a blink-and-you'll-miss-it fair-trade sticker on its store doors tooting its own horn.
In this age of corporate-social-responsibility initiatives and greenwashing, this relatively demure PR stance borders on mindboggling. One coffee giant would be screeching this fact from the mountaintops, or, at the very least, the Columbia Center in downtown Seattle, if it upped the ante with such a bold, progressive move, rather than merely providing lip service. Apparently—among the java titans, at least—that's the Dunkin' Difference.
Let's compare numbers between the two chain stores: 100 percent of Dunkin' Donuts' espresso-based coffee is fair-trade-certified, compared with Starbucks' 3.7 percent. Because of its prodigious reach, however, Starbucks is North America's largest purchaser of fair-trade coffee, which makes its purchasing decisions hardly inconsequential.
But what's the big deal about fair trade, you may ask?
Fair trade ensures that small farmers in developing countries receive equitable compensation for their labors, or what counts as a living wage in their country of origin. Too often, they watch their hard-earned profits whisked away by predatory middlemen.
By demanding fair-trade products, you’re leveraging your power as a consumer to push for better trading conditions and fair returns for marginalized producers and workers. Third-party certification groups audit the companies that bear their seal, so you're not just taking them at their word, which self-certification makes you do.
TreeHugger believes that sustainable, equitable trade, not aid, can help alleviate poverty in the developing world. To learn more about fair-trade-certified products in the United States, visit the Web site of Transfair U.S.A., the only third-party certifier of fair-trade products in America. ::Dunkin Donuts
See also: ::How to Green Your Coffee and Tea, ::JavaPop: Fair-Trade, Organic Coffee Soda, and ::Black Gold: A Coffee Film That Has Starbucks Scared
"100 percent of Dunkin' Donuts' coffee is fair-trade-certified"
I thought it was just the espresso?
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Lattes and cappuccinos use the same espresso beans.
It is just the espresso...and besides, you might want to check this out before saying how great they are:
http://www.coffeehabitat.com/2007/03/dunkin_donuts.html
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Lattes and cappuccinos are essentially espresso with steamed milk—how else did you think they were made? Also, not commenting on the company as a whole, just its fair-trade position. Anyway, I have read that post—I even commented there in March!
Um, disposable cups. Hate to break it to you but this is greenwashing.
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See above reply.
One must also understand that Fairtrade, is not exactly fair trade. Farmers who grow crops for Fairtrade prices are still living at a subsistance level while the companies that sell their goods make millions. If you really want to buy from "fair trade" companies go with Intelligencia, Novo Coffee, and smaller companies like this. They pay "auction" prices which are around 4 times fair trade. It is also helping to build the economies of countries like Panama and Eithopia. Check it out!
It makes me feel guilty for not liking the taste of Dunkin' Donuts coffee. I make my own coffee in with the $3.50 can of espresso grind, the cheapest in the store, and it tastes better to me, but it isn't fair trade. Does anyone know if there's an espresso grind fair trade coffee that's available for a low price? Preferably one common in east coast supermarkets.
Also, what about the drip coffee they give you on the combo menu? That's, by definition, not espresso. Plus, I'm pretty sure I saw the guy pour it out of a Bunn carafe this morning when I got a donut for myself and my little sister. I'm not trying to be confrontational, but I don't think they make an Americano for every black coffee they serve.
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These are the coffees DD explicitly states are FT:
Espresso
Cappuccino
Latte
Mocha Swirl Latte
Caramel Swirl Latte
Turbo Ice
I'm going to check with them about the drip coffee---thanks for pointing that out!
Too bad the Carlyle Group bought Dunkin's. They're completely mobbed-up with Reagan/Bushapparatchniks:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlyle_group
I'll buy my coffee from the local guy down the street, thanks.
Too bad the Carlyle Group bought Dunkin's. They're completely mobbed-up with Reagan/Bushapparatchniks
So is John C. Malone, CEO of Discovery.
They're completely mobbed-up with Reagan/Bushapparatchniks:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlyle_group
If you're going to make a statement like that, at least find a better source than wiki...
I wonder if there isn't a lot of promotion on DD's part because their customer base really doesn't give a dunk.
Oh, by the way, everything you buy outside of your local market, and even some of that, is using oil and other industries linked to the "bad guys." Like this internet thing.
I wonder if they didn't make a huge deal about it because of the fact that it's only their espresso beans and not their regular drip that is fair trade. It seems kind of ironic to me, I mean if you're going to do the fairtrade thing, wouldn't you go all the way, rather than doing it half-heartedly?
Fair Trade is so passé. As soon as the masses of people who just now woke up to the concept of why we might need something like Fair Trade discover all its flaws and shortcomings, it will be yet another corporate co-opted marketing strategy and people seeking real benefits for growers will be off on other, better programs.
On Starbucks defense they do give fair prices to all coffee producers. They help out their communities and families.
They are not some coffee monster and trying to take over the world. They are a business that makes profits of course, but part of their mission statement is to contribute positively to our communities and our environment. That is why all Starbucks coffee is organic and they do try to do as much as they can to be eco-consicious(using recycled products, recycling in stores, giving cup discounts for people bringing their own). I don't see many coffee companies doing that.
Also, they are a giant because the consumers made them a giant. Even without advertising they become more and more popular and opening more stores everyday.
You're right about HOW Starbucks got huge. We all helped.
But I hate to tell you that not all of their coffee is organic. They are the largest US buyer of organic coffee, but it is a very very small percentage of their line. Where did you read that figure?