Comments on: Starbucks Isn’t Alone: Local-washing Is the New Black

By: Local-washing makes me ANGRY! « Finding My Path

Local-washing makes me ANGRY! « Finding My Path — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 16:34:58 +0000

[...] buying local, local-washing, sustainability Have you heard about the latest craze for big corps? Local-washing is the new black. What if you’re a big corporation buying items from Asia and selling them in communities [...]

By: Jan

Jan — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:26:37 +0000

This all seems so ridiculous. 20+ years ago Starbucks was a local small business based in Seattle. Their product becomes so popular, they become a huge success, take their business to a national and then international level and we all hate them! What about being proud of another great American success story? What about having respect for a great business model that succeeded, hired thousands of ‘local’ employees and helps support our economy locally, nationally and internationally?

By: Jan

Jan — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:20:33 +0000

Exactly! Not much coffee grown in the Pacific North West that I have seen! How can Coffee be local anywhere in the US except Hawaii?
If they open a coffee shop, hire local employees and serve the local community a product that they enjoy what is the issue here???

By: Doug

Doug — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 11:48:27 +0000

I don’t get the picture. Starbucks is based in Seattle, they open a shop in Seattle, therefore it’s local. So what’s the problem?
Starbucks provides affordable health care to part-time employees, try getting that at any other coffee shop.

By: Nick Aster

Nick Aster — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 20:00:57 +0000

Everyone – good points. I wish we could move beyond the Starbucks is “evil” nonsense, but a lot of people still get worked up. I agree with an earlier commenter who stated that, actually, Starbucks really helped create coffee culture in the US and that there are actually MORE independents now than there were before. So saying that Starbucks drives away independents is just not true – I can vouch for this with personal experience (though I don’t know about Seattle)

Secondly – the point of this article is to explore the crossover between huge company and local business. My opinion is that the 15th street store is a bit of a bungle because people may feel it is essentially dishonest – ie, you just can’t “fake it”. Either be Starbucks the mega chain, or not.

By: Rob Leavitt

Rob Leavitt — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 18:11:20 +0000

“Localization” is indeed a big trend among the large retail chains — not just Wal-Mart, Target and grocery chains, but also specialty stores like Best Buy and Gap. Their motive is obviously to sell more stuff, but their main competitive concern is really other chains, not the truly local stores. So Target is focused on competing against Wal-Mart by moving away from a standard assortment of products and instead trying to tailor each store more closely to what people in that area are buying. Same with Best Buy — they are much more concerned with competing against Wal-Mart than against a local electronics store (are there even any of those left?).

From a sustainability perspective, I think the real question is whether there is anything the big chains can do which can be applauded, or are they just “evil” no matter what they do. Personally, I’d rather push and encourage them to get more local in a serious way, as well as more sustainable, of course — while also doing whatever we can to support truly local businesses as well. The big chains are not going to disappear any time soon, and it will make a big difference if more of them accept local pressure and influence to do better even while they continue to focus on their bottom line.

By: bob

bob — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 17:14:45 +0000

local……coffee?? in Seattle??

By: David Green

David Green — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 00:19:09 +0000

Starbucks is practically the king of glossing over things to make them seem innocent like this. This takes the cake though as underhandedly deceiving customers who want to do right. Local-washing is wrong.

Starbucks wasn’t peachy before though. Their employees are brainwashed to go along with every greedy marketing campaign or else they’re not “team players.” If they really cared about community they wouldn’t stinge on labor in their stores (carrot-on-a-string benefits that aren’t good and chaotic work schedules) and stay in Seattle where they belong instead of taking over the world.

By: MC OConnor

MC OConnor — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 20:53:40 +0000

LB:
Yes I learned about the American Independent Business Alliance while researching this story and looking into the background of the New Rules Project. And as far as the movement going beyond “green types”…that is true and maybe I was looking at it too narrowly, through the lens of the green movement. But I do believe the green movement is what brought the local movement, if you want to call it that, to the mainstream.

By: J. de Jesus

J. de Jesus — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 19:03:53 +0000

Oh please. Local, schmocal. Howard Schultz became greedy and over built Starbucks drive-thrus. He is simply trying to make the behemoth company look like the little guy on the block again. Starbucks wants you to know its all about you! when really its all about money.

By: LB

LB — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 18:14:39 +0000

Re “It seems wrong to call localism a movement on its own.” I disagree — there unquestionably is a localization movement that goes far beyond green types. Also,the American Independent Business Alliance ( http://amiba.net )and Ms. Mitchell’s New Rules Project (http://newrules.org )certainly have strong and “intellectual underpinnings” if the Forbes reporter bother to research instead of just spew (I know, too much to ask of Forbes).

I see these groups are not linked here, so perhaps you’re unaware of them?

By: Jen Boynton

Jen Boynton — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 18:06:52 +0000

Thanks for the catch Fenbi!

By: Fenbi

Fenbi — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:27:40 +0000

It’s coffee ‘joint’