Should We #BoycottStarbucks?
Social media is powerful. It has the power to connect old friends, the power to create a strong sense of community…and of course the power to spread information like wildfire. In early June, that is exactly what happened when Starbucks employees received a memo prohibiting them from wearing any attire supporting the Black Lives Matter movement on the job. This happened around the same time that the brand shared multiple social media posts supporting the movement. Sounds Hypocritical, doesn't it? Well, thousands of people thought so and the #BoycottStarbucks emerged across multiple social platforms.
After days of facing endless criticism as massive amounts of social media users expressed their disappointment in the brand, Starbucks announced they will allow their employees to wear t-shirts, pins and name-tags supporting the movement. They also shared that they had created 250,000+ branded t-shirts supporting the movement to be sent to stores. With this action, Starbucks attempted to demonstrate that they are willing to listen and implement change swiftly. While some commend Starbucks for the change, many continue to #boycott the brand. Despite the effort, many say that this is too little, too late. The series of events gave the impression that their support of the movement was disingenuous. As for where I stand, the situation really makes me wonder; do they really believe in the movement? Or are they just following others footsteps for the sake of the brands reputation? The fact that the phrase “Black Lives Matter” is controversial blows my mind. Of course black lives matter, and that is the bare minimum. They should be cherished, protected, celebrated, and so many more things. Any brand (or person) that hesitates with the phrase/movement has proven that their values down align with my own.
In early July, the brand was scrutinized again when a muslim woman wearing a hijab received her order with “ISIS” written on the cup. The customer (who is pressing charges) said she felt belittled and humiliated. Upon expressing her concerns to the supervisor, she was presented a $25 gift card and escorted off the premise. The news of course exploded on social media, and just one month after the previous crisis, #BoycottStarbucks in trending again. Starbucks has declined to comment on the incident, as this particular cafe is located in and operated by a Target. This lack of responsibility is unacceptable, the cup even had their logo on it! How could they have no brand guidelines in place, regardless of their location? The brand should be held accountable and implement more diversity training and regulations. But I guess we will have to wait and see if vocal social media users will pressure them to make changes like last month.
In both of these scenarios, Starbucks’ behavior regarding discrimination is undoubtedly disappointing. As many rely on the brand for their daily caffeine fix, it will be interesting to see how many people will continue to boycott it, especially as lockdown measures ease and we return to our old routines. I personally will stay away from Starbucks, but I don’t drink their coffee anyways.
