As NTK Network reported back in 2016, Schultz has long mulled a presidential run, and was even included on Hillary Clinton’s (long-ish) short list for potential running mates. Last year, Schultz issued a company memorandum that read more like a political platform, laying out support for the DACA program, Obamacare, and opposition to Trump’s Muslim ban.
Despite Schultz’s separation from Starbucks, his close association with the brand he built will permeate the conversation. In fact, Schultz’s entire rationale for running is his experience building and running a massive global company from the “grounds” up.
But the truth is, Schultz isn’t completely separated from Starbucks, and that could pose serious conflicts of interest.
Further complicating a presidential run, Schultz, whose net worth Forbes pegs at $2.6 billion, retains 3 percent of Starbucks shares, posing potential conflicts that in some ways dwarf those posed by the Trump Organization. For one, Starbucks has staked much of its future on expected growth in China, where it enjoys an unusual level of access to local markets, operating its stores without an in-country partner.
Would a candidate Schultz divest his Starbucks shares? According to Politico, Schultz won’t say. – READ MORE
[divider][/divider]On Monday, Starbucks, ever-eager to portray itself as a corporation that is sensitive to environmental concerns, jumped on the bandwagon with those advocating the removal of plastic straws. Starbucks Kevin Johnson CEO issued a press release in which he said, “This is a significant milestone to achieve our global aspiration of sustainable coffee, served to our customers in more sustainable ways.”
One problem: as Christian Britschgi notes in Reason, the replacements Starbucks plans to use for the plastic straws, nitro lids, are comprised of more plastic than Starbucks’ current lid/straw combination.
Britschgi writes, “Right now, Starbucks patrons are topping most of their cold drinks with either 3.23 grams or 3.55 grams of plastic product, depending on whether they pair their lid with a small or large straw. The new nitro lids meanwhile weigh either 3.55 or 4.11 grams, depending again on lid size. (I got these results by measuring Starbucks’ plastic straws and lids on two separate scales, both of which gave me the same results.) This means customers are at best breaking even under Starbucks’ strawless scheme, or they are adding between .32 and .88 grams to their plastic consumption per drink.” – READ MORE
[divider][/divider]The iconic green plastic straw sipped by so many Americans, woke and unwoke alike, are going the way of unconscious bias at Starbucks.
After a bruising few months of brutal headlines over a series of racial bias accusations against Starbucks’ employees made by customers and activists — and echoed by both the CEO and executive chairman of the company — Starbucks has been attempting to rebrand itself as the most woke in the coffee industry. Now it will also be the most environmentally conscious.
Starbucks’ transcendent racial enlightenment was achieved by a 4-hour unconscious bias reeducation program hosted by the rapper Common. The heightened environmental consciousness will be attained by replacing the famous green plastic straw with truly green paper straws and new “strawless lids.”- READ MORE
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