Dubai’s Chocolate-Based Propaganda Push
For paid subscribers: Coffee is increasingly used to burnish the United Arab Emirates’ international image. Now it is being supercharged by merging with the popularity of the Dubai chocolate trend.
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Yes, Starbucks Engages in Coffeewashing. But Don’t Let Reactionaries Weaponise It.
For paid subscribers: I’ve written before about Starbucks’ myriad climate issues, but now conservative activist shareholders are trying to weaponise those failings in service of a climate denialist goal.
4 min read
After publishing last week’s (surprisingly controversial) article on the contradictions between sustainably-marketed coffee companies partnering with airlines, somebody sent me an article published by The Cool Down, which bills itself as a “climate-driven culture and lifestyle brand”.
The article in question is titled “Starbucks CEO faces major backlash after details of his work routine are revealed: 'Ill-conceived decision'”, and uses a press release and shareholder proposal from the National Center for Public Policy Research’s Free Enterprise Project as its basis.
Read next
Dubai’s Chocolate-Based Propaganda Push
For paid subscribers: Coffee is increasingly used to burnish the United Arab Emirates’ international image. Now it is being supercharged by merging with the popularity of the Dubai chocolate trend.
Coffee Conversations: Biggby's Bob Fish on Challenging Corporate Coffee’s Status Quo
The co-founder of the chain Biggby Coffee talks about building a successful company with hundreds of franchised locations, only to switch to a new way of doing business—one that prioritises more than just growth and profit.
On Blue Bottle Coffee’s Climate Neutral ‘Achievement’
For paid subscribers: Blue Bottle used carbon offsets and a focus on “emissions intensity” to go carbon neutral, but its total emissions increased quite significantly. Should this "achievement" be celebrated?
Robot Baristas as Strikebreakers
Companies are turning to automation as a tool to fight back against industrial action. In coffee, that role could well be played by robot baristas—in fact, it sort of already has.