Seventeen organizations have signed an open letter urging Brazilian fashion brand FARM Rio to reconsider its recent collaboration with Starbucks. The letter highlights ongoing allegations against the coffee giant, including child exploitation in its global coffee supply chain.
For a fashion brand, teaming up with Starbucks may seem like the opportunity of a lifetime—but is it worth aligning with a company accused of severe human rights violations? Advocates are urging FARM Rio to make their partnership with Starbucks conditional, warning that the relationship could jeopardize the fashion brand’s certified “B” Corporation status.
“we’re supposed to trust you?”
In April, the advocacy group International Rights Advocates (IRA) filed a federal class-action lawsuit against Starbucks. The case alleges that the company trafficked each of the eight plaintiffs, including one minor, and forced them to work in hazardous conditions on farms supplying coffee to Cooxupé, one of Starbucks’ Tier 1 suppliers.
In a statement to Prism, Starbucks spokesperson Go Guasch denied the allegations, claiming that the company does not purchase coffee from all farms within Cooxupé. Guasch added that Starbucks follows its Coffee and Farmer Equity (CAFE) Practices program. The program was developed with oversight from third-party experts in 2004 and, according to Starbucks, has been independently audited and evolving over the years.
But Etelle Higonnet, founder of Coffee Watch, disagrees. In her statement to Prism, she criticized the CAFE program for falling far short of industry best practices:
“It is so far beneath the best in class … They do not pay a living income reference price for farmers, they do not guarantee a living wage for the farm workers. They are not organic. They’re not even really close to organic.”
Higonnet said the program lacks transparency and is in urgent need of reform. She pointed to the Smithsonian’s Bird Friendly coffee certification as a model of rigorous due diligence.
“This is a widespread, systematic, documented pattern and practices of extreme human rights violations in their supply chain. You should not be sourcing from [those farms], …You’re just going to tell us that it’s OK, and we’re supposed to trust you?”
In addition to modern slavery allegations, Starbucks faces mounting criticism for labor violations in the US. Higonnet says thousands of baristas have faced retaliation for demanding basic rights. As of 2024, workers and unions have filed over 700 unfair labor practice cases with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
Still brewing: modern slavery in Starbucks’ cocoa supply chain
Workers and their representatives in the Brazil case say the abuse doesn’t stop there. The same exploitative conditions, they say, stretch across Starbucks’ global supply chain—from China and Colombia to Mexico, Indonesia, Uganda, and Guatemala.
Advocates say Starbucks shouldn’t be allowed to clean up its image by partnering with ethical brands like FARM Rio. They’re calling on the company to take real action by ending child labor and forced labor in its supply chains. Moreover, they are urging the coffee giant to ensure living wages for farm workers and fair income for smallholder farmers.
The pressure is growing. Starbucks is also under scrutiny for modern slavery in its cocoa supply chain. In the 2025 edition of the Chocolate Scorecard, Starbucks scored just 37%, with particularly low marks in the categories of child and forced labor—and even worse in paying a living income.
Starbucks still has a long way to go to earn an ethical reputation. Let’s keep the pressure on. Sign the petition demanding Starbucks clean up its cocoa supply chain.
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