Starbucks goes 100% fair trade

Starbucks has announced that every coffee drink it sells in its 700 British and Irish shops will now be fairtrade.

In the past, customers at the international coffee shop chain had to request a fairtrade drink - and the choice was only available for filter coffee.

The move will see fairtrade coffee beans used for every drink - including espresso, latte, cappuccino and mocha.

This will boost Starbucks’ fairtrade sales in the UK from 6% of all coffee sold to 100%.

Starbucks will become the world’s largest buyer of fairtrade coffee.

Chief executive Howard Shultz said the announcement marked an important step forward in the company’s commitment to ethical sourcing.

The Fairtrade Foundation, which ensures fairtrade farmers are paid sufficient wages to live, said Starbucks’ promise will benefit hundreds of coffee farmers and their communities in the majority world.

Farmers who join fairtrade co-operatives receive at least 82 pence per pound of beans sold, plus a premium of 10 US cents to be invested in local community projects such as hospitals and schools.

Starbucks’ decision will no doubt have been motivated mostly by business rather than ethical concerns as it seeks to address a downturn in sales because of the current global recession.

Last month, rival coffee shop chain Costa Coffee, which has 821 stores across the UK, said all of its beans would be sourced from farms approved by the Rainforest Alliance, who ensure environmental and labour standards.