Thank you for your comment and article. It is imperative that there is transparency of Starbucks’ operations in order for purchasers to make an informed decision.

I would like also like to take this opportunity to congratulate Equal Exchange for the many awards they have received recently – Green Business Award, Social Innovation Award, Aaron Feuerstein Spirituality and Business Award as well as being named one of the world’s most democratic workplaces.

For those you might want to look a little more closely at the differences between Starbucks’ C.A.F.E.(aka Shared Planet) approach to coffee sourcing and Fair Trade I’ve written up this analysis at:
http://www.justmeans.com/companyarticles/3352/Rodney-North-from-Equal-Exchange-Discusses-Fair-Trade-Vs–C-A-F-E–Practices.html

As a 100% Fair Trade importer we obviously have our bias but folks seem to find what we wrote helpful all the same.