Starbucks Coffee Company
Coffee shop · Ontario ·
Signature roasts, light bites, and free WiFi available
Signature roasts, light bites, and free WiFi available
"The coffee chain reportedly played the Hamilton soundtrack on repeat in stores, a practice that wore on employees to the point where baristas say it made them dislike the musical." - Whitney Filloon
"A commissioned report following a high-profile racist arrest recommends the company implement more employee training and change the way it records and reports in-store incidents to prevent future problems." - Whitney Filloon
"Publicly committed to phasing out plastic straws across more than 28,000 locations by 2020, a move driven in part by activist pressure and concerns about the company’s cups and green straws appearing in beach-trash images." - Brenna Houck
"Launched a free-coffee-for-voters promotion in 2008 but quickly abandoned it; regulators ultimately issued only a warning rather than pursuing enforcement." - Whitney Filloon
"The company first introduced holiday cups in 1997 and remained largely controversy-free until a plain red ombré design in 2015 sparked a viral backlash; an evangelist named Joshua Feuerstein — wearing a Jesus t-shirt and clutching a handgun in a video — urged customers to prank baristas by giving the name “Merry Christmas,” and the incident even drew comment from then-presidential hopeful Donald Trump as evidence of a “war on Christmas.” In response to the uproar it later released a green mosaic cup explained by founder Howard Schultz as “a symbol of unity,” which prompted accusations from some conservatives that the design constituted an attack on Christian values or “political brainwashing.” Subsequent red cups featuring snowflakes, wrapped presents and a pair of holding hands were interpreted variously (BuzzFeed called the hands “totally gay,” while conservative outlets decried a supposed “gay agenda”), a reaction the company deflected by saying designs were intentionally open to interpretation. To avoid further flare-ups it unveiled four more overtly festive designs — candy-cane–like red-and-white stripes, a mint-green-and-red holly-esque pattern, a red-and-white houndstooth and a starry “stargyle” — but also released a plain red reusable cup as a promotional giveaway (on Nov. 2) that ran out in many stores within minutes, frustrating customers who later had the option to buy the cup for $2.50." - Whitney Filloon
