I watched Starbucks sans filtre (2018) through Amazon Prime in Austria, so my version was dubbed in German. This production, being European, focuses especially on issues such as the company´s years of successful EU tax evasion, achieved through basing all corporate financial organs in the Netherlands and claiming (for example) that the company has been in the red in Britain for (!) fifteen years. Sure, it might look as though they are doing great in London, but looks can be deceiving! A propos of which:
Some treatment of the pseudo-fair-trade practices of Starbucks is provided in Starbucks san filtre. It turns out that Starbucks created its own NGO to certify itself as socially progressive and its most of its coffee as ¨ethically sourced¨. Slick. An earlier film, Black Gold (2006), explores in great detail the exploitation of coffee farmers. I recommend that film highly as it digs deep into the problem and explains why it was that Starbucks began its gigantic ¨socially conscious¨ PR campaign in the first place.
Recycling is another issue touched on here, in addition to the treatment of employees and the image versus reality of being a ¨partner¨. One big omission, to my mind, are the stories of Teavana, Tazo, and a once-beloved bakery company (whose name I don´t recall), all of which were taken over by Starbucks, chewed up and subsequently spit out. Those were sad stories to the former companies´ devotees (and employees who all lost their jobs in the takeovers).
To my mind, the least interesting part of this documentary is how Starbucks began pushing ueber-caloric milkshake-type drinks. I think that when people consume anything it is up to them to pay attention to what they are doing. As in everything else, Starbucks simply grew its market niche by doing that. (Similar story happened in the luxury fashion. Ever noticed all those poor people wearing t-shirts with designer names emblazoned on them?) Starbucks was similarly attempting to expand its market niche when it took over two formerly trendy tea companies (Teavana and Tazo), but those efforts failed.
It seems safe to say, based on the stories relayed in this film and elsewhere, that Starbucks´ ¨socially conscious image¨ is just that. A PR ploy.
Some treatment of the pseudo-fair-trade practices of Starbucks is provided in Starbucks san filtre. It turns out that Starbucks created its own NGO to certify itself as socially progressive and its most of its coffee as ¨ethically sourced¨. Slick. An earlier film, Black Gold (2006), explores in great detail the exploitation of coffee farmers. I recommend that film highly as it digs deep into the problem and explains why it was that Starbucks began its gigantic ¨socially conscious¨ PR campaign in the first place.
Recycling is another issue touched on here, in addition to the treatment of employees and the image versus reality of being a ¨partner¨. One big omission, to my mind, are the stories of Teavana, Tazo, and a once-beloved bakery company (whose name I don´t recall), all of which were taken over by Starbucks, chewed up and subsequently spit out. Those were sad stories to the former companies´ devotees (and employees who all lost their jobs in the takeovers).
To my mind, the least interesting part of this documentary is how Starbucks began pushing ueber-caloric milkshake-type drinks. I think that when people consume anything it is up to them to pay attention to what they are doing. As in everything else, Starbucks simply grew its market niche by doing that. (Similar story happened in the luxury fashion. Ever noticed all those poor people wearing t-shirts with designer names emblazoned on them?) Starbucks was similarly attempting to expand its market niche when it took over two formerly trendy tea companies (Teavana and Tazo), but those efforts failed.
It seems safe to say, based on the stories relayed in this film and elsewhere, that Starbucks´ ¨socially conscious image¨ is just that. A PR ploy.
