US coffee chain Starbucks has been sued by a consumer group, the National Consumers League, due to unethical coffee sourcing from Kenya, Brazil, and Guatemala.
In its suit, the lobby group submitted that the multinational applied deceptive marketing tactics by running adverts that suggested that the coffee the multinational sells is grown and sourced ethically.
However, the lawsuit highlighted how employees in coffee farms in Kenya were exploited and their human rights infringed. The group added that the situation was similar in Brazil and Guatemala hence the lawsuit.
"Over the last decade, investigative reporters and government officials have found extreme abuses on farms and co-ops that supply coffee and tea to Starbucks," the group CEO, Sally Greenberg stated.
Greenberg argued that the company had numerous chances to change the misleading marketing but nothing had been done.
Through the lawsuit, the CEO demanded that Starbucks should tweak its marketing to be conscious of the alleged child and forced labour applied in the farms where the multinational sources its coffee.
In response, Starbucks told NBC, an American news outlet, that it worked with all its farms to ensure they adhere to the company's standards.
The coffee company also revealed that the products from Kenya and other countries undergo verification regularly adding that it was committed to ensure their partners meet the expectations contained in the Global Human Rights Statement.
"We are aware of the lawsuit, and plan to aggressively defend against the asserted claims that Starbucks has misrepresented its ethical sourcing commitments to customers," stated a company spokesperson.
This is one of the lawsuits the company has faced due to its sourcing of products. In 2020, it was sued for receiving coffee picked by young children working on farms.
Reportedly, the children worked in bad conditions and were on the farm for around eight hours a day for six days a week.
Starbucks responded by launching an investigation into the farms alleged to be abusing children.
