Day 6 – Starbucks and Museums
Today, we went to the ISA office to hear a presentation from
Starbucks representative about their modified version of practicing Fair Trade
called Coffee and Farmer Equity (C.A.F.E.) Practices. The main difference
between the two is that Fair Trade is only applicable to small farms, while
C.A.F.E. Practices are applicable to all sizes of farms. The mission of the
program is to create long term relationships with suppliers who use sustainable
methods of growing their crop. Starbucks’ goal is to have 100% of their
suppliers using C.A.F.E. Practices by the end of 2015, and as of 2013 they had
95% of their goal accomplished.
This kind of innovation demonstrates the kind of creativity
involved in the organization of the company. There is constantly research being
done to find ways of improving their product and increasing efficiency. This is
not unique to Starbucks though, as Café Britt had a similar mentality towards
research. Because of this fact, I think this characteristic might be applicable
to the gourmet coffee industry as a whole, just by its nature. It’s an industry
that constantly striving for both perfection and to be socially responsible, so
improvements always need to be made. And because it’s a rapidly changing and
volatile industry, innovation is absolutely necessary to accomplish those lofty
goals.
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