Importance Score: 85 / 100 🟢
Lawsuit Alleges Forced Labor in Coffee Production for Starbucks
A lawsuit has been filed against Starbucks, alleging the use of forced labor and child labor in its coffee supply chain. The case centers on a Brazilian coffee farm reportedly supplying the global coffeehouse chain, where workers endured harsh conditions. The legal action seeks financial compensation for the alleged harm suffered by these laborers.
Details of Alleged Exploitation
“John,” a minor at the time, was reportedly recruited just before his 16th birthday to labor on a coffee farm in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Promised certain conditions, he instead faced a reality far removed from those assurances. After a grueling 16-hour bus ride, he discovered the grim truth:
- Unpaid work under intense heat.
- Extended shifts from 5:30 AM to 6:00 PM with minimal breaks.
- Lack of protective gear such as boots and gloves.
He was rescued in June 2024 during a raid by Brazilian authorities.
Findings of the Official Report
The official report following the rescue operation described John’s situation as “child labor in hazardous conditions.” The report further stated that he and other workers were “trafficked and subjected to slavery-like conditions.”
Legal Action and Complaints Filed
John and seven other Brazilian workers, identified as John Doe 1-8 to protect them from potential retribution, have initiated a civil suit in the U.S. against Starbucks. This action, supported by International Rights Advocates (IRA), pursues financial reparations for the damages they claim to have experienced.
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Additionally, IRA and the NGO Coffee Watch have lodged a complaint with US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), advocating for the exclusion of coffee and coffee products produced with forced labor in Brazil. The targeted importers include Starbucks, Nestlé, Jacobs Douwe Egberts, Dunkin’, Illy, and McDonald’s.
Evidence of Widespread Exploitation
The complaint highlights instances of worker rescues by Brazilian authorities, asserting that these cases represent only a fraction of the pervasive exploitative working conditions prevalent on Brazilian coffee plantations.
Etelle Higonnet, founder and director of Coffee Watch, stated, “If we’re able to convince CBP that our case is watertight … that would be a gamechanger because thousands of people have been found in those conditions by Brazilian authorities, and clearly what has been done till now is not solving the problem.”
Historical Context and Modern Implications of Forced Labor in Brazil
Brazil’s coffee farming sector has the highest incidence of workers rescued from conditions analogous to slavery. This legal designation encompasses elements such as debt bondage, excessively long workdays, substandard living and food provisions, and unpaid wages.
The nation has been the foremost coffee producer globally since the 19th century, fueled by the forced labor of enslaved Africans and Afro-Brazilians. Today, Afro-Brazilians constitute the majority (66%) of those rescued from slave-like conditions.
Jorge Ferreira dos Santos Filho, coordinator of Adere, a workers’ organization aiding authorities in identifying victims, explained, “The logic behind coffee production here is one of precarious labor that has always been imposed on Black people throughout our history.”
Santos Filho, who is Black and a survivor of forced labor, added, “In rural areas especially, we as Black people end up falling into these situations because we have no other choice and need to put food on the table.”
The Plight of Quilombo Residents
All eight plaintiffs in the lawsuit against Starbucks reside in quilombos – communities historically founded by escaped enslaved people. Approximately 1.3 million individuals inhabit 8,400 quilombos across Brazil, facing living conditions that lag behind national averages in essential areas like sanitation and literacy.
Terrence Collingsworth, executive director of IRA, remarked, “The fact that Starbucks charges like $6 for a cup of coffee, where most of that has been harvested by forced labourers and child labourers, is really beyond a criminal act. It’s morally repugnant.”
Continued Sourcing from Problematic Farms
Both the lawsuit and the complaint contend that even after rescue operations, fines levied against farm owners, and their inclusion on a government “dirty list,” Starbucks and other companies persist in importing coffee from these farms.
Starbucks’ Response
A Starbucks spokesperson commented, “The cornerstone of our approach to buying coffee is Coffee and Farmer Equity (Cafe) Practices, one of the coffee industry’s first set of ethical sourcing standards when it launched in 2004 and is continuously improved.”
“Developed in collaboration with Conservation International, Cafe Practices is a verification program that measures farms against economic, social, and environmental criteria, all 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.”
Implications and the Call for Consumer Awareness
While Brazilian law punishes forced labor with imprisonment of up to eight years, farm owners are seldom incarcerated.
Santos Filho urges, “To put an end to this, we need consumers to be aware that every cup of coffee they drink, without questioning its true origin, is financing slave labour in coffee production. It’s no use feeling sympathy for the workers or claiming zero tolerance for such practices if you continue drinking coffee without questioning its source.”