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Starbucks and the Ethos Water Campaign

Page history last edited by block8group6 15 years, 11 months ago

 

Bruno, Kenny. "CorpWatch: Greenwash Campaign Profile." CorpWatch.Org. 22 Mar. 2001. Corp

Watch. 20 Apr. 2008 <http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=942>.  

     A rather basic article from a notoriously biased source, this defines the term "greenwash," which was used in a few of our other articles. Basically, greenwashing, is putting a great deal into PR to overstate a small amount of actual corporate environmental contribution.  Though this certainly isn't one of our major sources, it is important nonetheless, as it is a common charge made against companies who put a lot into CSR. 

 
"Ethos Water: Helping Children Get Clean Water." Ethos.Com. Ethos. 20 Apr. 2008 <http://www.ethoswater.com/?gclid=CJ_y_beZ6ZICFQ1vHgodIHxm6w>. 
 
     This is the about us page of Ethos.com. It gives a very brief history of Ethos, explains where to buy it and how much goes towards alleviating thirst in poor areas. Overall, the site provides surprisingly little information. It neglects to get into the specifics of the program, or any measure of its effectiveness, short of total dollars donated. Though it provides the very basic background information for what is an interesting premise, it fell far short of providing us with everything we wanted to know about the program. 
 
 
"Ethos Water and H20 Africa Join Forces to Help Alleviate the Worlds Water Crisis." Starbucks.Com. 06 Mar. 2008. North American Coffee Partnership. 20 Apr. 2008 <http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/pressdesc.asp?id=841>. 
 
     The article is a press release from Starbucks announcing a committment to H20 Africa, a non-profit focused on improving sanitation and distribution of water in Africa. The article goes into some detail about the major players involved and how Pepsi, Starbucks, H20 Africa and some smaller non-profits are all working together to improve the water situation in Africa. It is exactly the kind of combination across sectors that we are interested in seeing to help alleviate major worldwide problems. 
 
 

 

Girard, Richard. "Coke and Pepsi's New Marketing Strategy: Pull At Your Heart Strings." Alternet.Org. 14 Mar. 2008. Polaris Institute. 20 Apr. 2008 <http://www.alternet.org/water/79741/?page=2>. 

 

 

     Expanding on the Brand Week article, this article examines the use of cause-based marketing by Pepsi and presumably soon by Coke to overcome environmental concerns about bottled water. Much is devoted to discussing

 what will be a dominating presence of both Coke and Pepsi at the upcoming World Water Day. The author is very skeptical of the intentions of the two beverage giants and accuses them of, among other things, "greenwashing." He

 criticizes the companies of being concerned not with helping as many people as possible but instead of helping only shareholders. He stops there, though, and fails to examine or discuss the ethical consequences of this position (assuming it is their position). The article ends rather abruptly, leaving open the most obvious questions concerning the ramifications of what Pepsi and Coke are doing. In the end, though the article only presents one side, it does present that side and in doing so, a good starting point for an argument about the contributions of for-profit companies to alleviating groundwater problems in Africa. 

 
 
Hein, Kenneth. "Beverage Bigs Battle Bottle Backlash." Brandweek.Com. 17 Feb. 2008. Brand Week. 20 Apr. 2008 <http://www.brandweek.com/bw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003711920>. 
 
     The article examines current consumer trends away from traditional bottled water, due in large part to environmental concerns. It then discusses possible responses, specifically including Pepsi's involvement in Ethos water. The article speculates that one way beverage giants will overcome environmental concerns is by overpowering them by doing other social good. The most interesting thing, however, is the idea that Coca-Cola will have to respond to Pepsi's Ethos with its own charitable brand. This could potentially set up a competition between the world's two largest beverage companies over who can be more charitable. Overall, the article provides an interesting insight into the possibility of for profit companies doing a tremendous amount of good through competition. This fits very well into our examination of how for profits fit into solving groundwater issues in Africa. 
 
 
 
Standage, Tom. "Water Waste." Guardian.Co.Uk. 24 Aug. 2005. The Guardian. 20 Apr. 2008 <http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005/aug/24/hearafrica05.water>. 
 
 
     The article is a general criticism of the bottled water trend, by an author for the English newspaper the Guardian. Though it only glosses over a few arguments, it does espouse the most common complaint with Ethos water, that it is only a marketing tool and in the end, does more environmental harm than it does good for reducing poverty and thirst. The author specifically states that exporting water can cause water shortages, that the plastic bottles are harmful for the environment and that Ethos's 10 cents per bottle donation is very low. The article is a good building block, but not detailed enough to be the cornerstone of our conclusions. 
 
 
 
"Starbucks Announces Acquisition of Ethos Water." Businesswire.Com. 11 Apr. 2005. Business Wire. 20 Apr. 2008 <http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20050411005941&newsLang=en>. 
  
     This is the press release announcing Starbucks buying Ethos Water. A good deal of the release is spent discussing the importance of Corporate Social Responsibility, both from the perspective of the acquiror and from the persepctive of the target. While the source is obviously very biased and motivated to make the deal look good, even the presence of the incentive to be biased reveals the importance of the perception of CSR. The release provides a strong example of the possibility of for profit companies helping themselves while also helping with issues like clean water through CSR. 
 
 

Chisholm, Elise “Starbucks Foundation Awards US$2 Million from the Ethos Water Fund to Help Improve the Lives of People in Water-Stressed African Communities  Ethos Water Launches World Water Day Activities to Build Awareness for the World Water Crisis.” 10Apr. 2008. 13 Mar. 2008 <http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/pressdesc.asp?id=845>

 

     This press release addresses Starbucks bottled water product Ethos which is a niche market bottled water product. Starbuck’s will donate $2 million form its Ethos water fund, over a three-year period, to CARE and Project Concern International. Collectively, the organizations’ efforts are expected to benefit an estimated 54,000 people who currently lack access to clean water and sanitation services in Africa.

 

     It explains why specifically CARE and Project Concern were chosen as they not only provide access to clean water and sanitation but in fact are well known for providing sustainability by empowering local residents to help become part of the long-term strategy.

 

     The CEO of Starbucks, Howard Schultz said that from the sale of each bottle of Ethos $0.05 will go towards this Ethos water fund which in turn is spent on water sanitation in Africa. To date $6.2 million has been raised. This provides a good example of how multi national corporations can get involved with fighting world problems such as that in Africa. While Starbucks may not have the expertise to carry this out by choosing to make their contributions to those that have expertise and not meddling with their activities is a form of Social Corporate Responsibility.

 

 

 

Starbucks Corporation.  “Ethos Water and H2O Africa Join Forces to Help Alleviate the World Water Crisis” Starbucks-Pepsi Announcement.  March 6, 2008.   April 4th 2008

<http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/pressdesc.asp?id=841>

 

Ethos Water, a brand Starbucks sells, has joined forces with H20 Africa.  H20 Africa is focused on clean water initiatives.  Starbucks acquired Ethos Water in 2005.  Ethos water also subsequently has expanded its distribution into 40,000 more stores through Pepsi Co. 

With each bottle of Ethos Water sold, $.05 goes to the Ethos Water Fund, part of the Starbucks foundation.

 

This page is a press release from Starbucks and Pepsi Co and is a reliable source of information. 

 

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