Starbucks aims to brew 100pc fairtrade

Starbucks says it is one of the world's biggest buyers of Fairtrade coffee. Photo / Supplied

Starbucks says it hopes to secure a supply of 100 per cent Fairtrade coffee for its New Zealand stores within the next 12 months.

The international coffee chain at present offers just one Fairtrade option in this country - brewed coffee - possibly leaving some Kiwi frappuccino drinkers with a guilty conscience.

Starbucks' website says the chain is already one of the world's biggest buyers of Fairtrade coffee, snapping up 16 per cent of the global supply.

Chris Buddle, the general manager for Starbucks New Zealand, which is part of Restaurant Brands, said the firm was working hard to secure a reliable supply of the certified coffee.

He said he was sceptical about claims by some of Starbucks' rivals, which he would not name, that they used 100 per cent Fairtrade coffee.

As the number of stores Starbucks had in New Zealand - about 40 - was similar to that of its main competitors, he said he was unsure how they could guarantee a constant source of Fairtrade coffee.

One of Starbucks New Zealand's closest competitors, Esquires New Zealand, has used 100 per cent Fairtrade coffee in the house blend it has served most of its customers since 2005.

Esquires NZ chief financial officer Chris King said his firm had not had any supply issues in sourcing the certified beans for its 45 Kiwi franchises. "At the end of the day we can provide certification for everything we say we provide."

Asked if using 100 per cent Fairtrade in its house blend gave Esquires an edge, King said: "It helps ... the proof of the proverbial pudding would be to run half your stores with [Fairtrade] and half without, but that's a social experiment that's just too dangerous."

Starbucks weathered some bad publicity in 2006 when it opposed an application by the Ethiopian Government to trademark some of its regional coffee names.

Oxfam said the global coffee giant influenced the United States Patent and Trademark Office's decision to oppose Ethiopia's application, mainly through its powerful membership in the US National Coffee Association.

Protests were held outside Starbucks stores in New Zealand and around the world. Eventually Starbucks agreed not to oppose Ethiopia's efforts to trademark its Sidamo, Harar and Yirgacheffe origins, which Oxfam said could benefit Ethiopian coffee farmers to the tune of US$88 million ($121.9 million) a year.