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Caribou coffee

passer

20:28 / 13.06.02

Background: Caribou Coffee is a US chain coffee store. I think of it as the other coffee corporation. That being said a coworker pointed me to lileks.com and his comments on Caribou Coffee. Which in in turn inspired me to point others to the same place.

Lilek's Caribou comments

Cliff notes: Outlines the connection between Caribou and fundamentalist Islam. One of the board members of the majority owner has terrorist connections as well as being an outspoken fundamentalist.

So, thoughts? As usual I haven't quite sorted out my reaction, but I'll say that at the moment it doesn't look good for Caribou.

(You'll note it's another company that has issues with linkage. When will these people learn?)

Naked Flame

07:48 / 14.06.02

Well, with an Arab-led Starbucks boycott growing, I vote both sides abandon conventional weaponry and settle their differences through a coffee-drinking competition. I believe the lethal dose is around 40 shots of espresso.

I don't agree with this boardmember's thinking at all. Then again, how is fundamentalist Islamic thinking of this nature actually worse than, say, much of Western corporate practice? I feel pretty safe, without doing any research whatsoever, in claiming that at least one boardmember of Starbucks will have major money in arms, animal testing, or the energy industry. Oh, and s/he almost certainly pays taxes to the US govt.

We're keyed in to personal freedom as a central value, so we react strongly to this kind of fundamentalism. Our values aren't wrong- just not as universal as we'd like. And not as consistent as we'd like, either.

passer

12:50 / 14.06.02

Okay, let's put aside our own differences in what we find politically objectionable and address the question of what if anything we should do if a single board member is doing something objectionable, but without imposing those views directly through the company. Is there a responsibility to do something or not? Is even the fact that this one of nine, fifteen, or whatever number of the board is publicly supporting something you're against the same as a coherent corporate policy you disagree with?

If the personal is political is all business as well?

Logos

14:03 / 14.06.02

"It was when they started passing out burquas with every jumbo latte that we first became suspicious," says FBI agent Sally Shears.

Naked Flame

14:47 / 14.06.02

What's the difference betweeen objectionable and politically objectionable, in this context?

Two options: boycott/publically embarrass the coffee chain until said individual stands down, or- if his activities are actually illegal- build and present a case against him somehow.

'Is even the fact that this one of nine, fifteen, or whatever number of the board is publicly supporting something you're against the same as a coherent corporate policy you disagree with?'

Not necessarily. I'd argue that as one's actions tend to stem from one's convictions, corporate policy of any nature is implemented in accordance with the worldview of those who carry out the task. Sometimes that is going to directly affect a business practice and sometimes it isn't. Regardless, taking issue with such associations is one way of creating a little leverage. Sometimes that's all you have to play with.

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