Starbucks again found turning a blind eye to modern slavery
Pumpkin spice season is back—but so is Starbucks’ problem with slave labor in its supply chain. In 2021, labor inspectors rescued twenty workers from a Starbucks-certified coffee farm in Brazil after finding them in modern slavery conditions. Brazil’s Ministry of Labor and Employment reported that the workers faced illegal wage deductions for protective equipment and lived in unsafe, unsanitary dormitories.
Despite the abuse, shocking new evidence shows the farm, Fazenda Floresta, kept its C.A.F.E. Practices certification, Starbucks’ own label meant to guarantee ethical production.
Coffee certified “ethical”
Brazil’s Ministry of Labor added the farm’s owner, Guilherme Sodré Alckmin Júnior, to the Dirty List of employers guilty of slave labor in early 2023, where he remained at least until 2024. He is now appealing the decision before the Superior Labor Court.
Yet, months after authorities published the list, Fazenda Floresta was still certified by Starbucks’ C.A.F.E. Practices. The owner’s lawyers even cited the active certification, valid until July 2024, in court filings obtained by reporters.
Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC), a major Starbucks supplier, terminated its contracts with Alckmin Júnior after his name appeared on the Dirty List. But the fact that the C.A.F.E. seal was maintained long after the violations were proven raises serious questions about Starbucks’ oversight.
When asked about the case, Starbucks declined to comment directly, offering only generic statements about “responsible sourcing.”