As Rene posted in her blog “Sound’s Like a Fair Trade“, Starbucks has recently announced that they will be selling fair trade espresso beans in all university campus locations across Canada. Using fair trade coffee beans means better working conditions for coffee producers in developing countries and promotes global sustainability.

Deciding to convert to fair trade espresso would have been an expensive decision for Starbucks, but consumers are willing to pay the extra little bit. By buying from Starbucks consumers are now empowering farmers and developing the business skills that they need to compete in the global coffee market.

Starbucks is a huge international company with a big customer base and making this small change will promote ethical behaviour in the entire coffee industry. It will also promote awareness of the many unfair coffee farming practices taking place around the world, and hopefully persuade other coffee companies to follow in Starbucks’ footsteps.