Starbucks sued for alleged false advertising of ‘ethical’ coffee

The National Consumers League (NCL) on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against Starbucks, saying the corporation engages in false advertising by claiming to be committed to “ethical” sourcing when it still relies on farms that face accusations of human rights and labor abuses.

The lawsuit, filed in D.C. Superior Court, seeks to block Starbucks from engaging in the alleged practice of misleading the public and seeks unspecified damages.

The lawsuit takes aim at the certification process that NCL claims Starbucks often relies on, “Coffee and Farmer Equity (C.A.F.E.) Practices,” which, the lawsuit alleges, Starbucks describes as “designed to promote transparent, profitable and sustainable coffee growing practices while also protecting the well-being of coffee farmers and workers, their families and their communities.”

“Contrary to Starbucks’ misrepresentations, a rubber-stamp ‘certification’ from these programs does not establish that Starbucks’ coffee and tea are in fact ethically sourced or in conformance with the international human rights norms and standards that Starbucks purports to respect,” the lawsuit says.

It cites several reports of farms and cooperatives from which Starbucks sources its products, which, the NCL alleges, “have committed documented, severe human rights and labor abuses, including the use of child labor and forced labor as well as rampant and egregious sexual harassment and assault.”

The lawsuit also notes the prevalence of Starbucks’s advertising of its commitment to ethical sourcing and claims Starbucks is aware of the advertising appeal of “ethical” branding.

“Consumers have been misled by Starbucks’ deceptive advertising, and Starbucks, with annual profits exceeding $21 billion, has unjustly benefited from branding itself as an industry leader in corporate responsibility while hiding the true nature of its unreliable and inadequate sourcing practices,” the lawsuit says.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Starbucks said they “are aware of the lawsuit, and plan to aggressively defend against the asserted claims that Starbucks has misrepresented its ethical sourcing commitments to customers.

“We take allegations like these extremely seriously and are actively engaged with farms to ensure they adhere to our standards,” the spokesperson added. 

“Each supply chain is required to undergo reverification regularly and we remain committed to working with our business partners to meet the expectations detailed in our Global Human Rights Statement.

This story was updated at 3:57 p.m.