Starbucks, slavery and union-busting in my coffee, and some thoughts

I've previously maintained that Starbucks is NOT evil. Certainly, no corporation is completely good, but Starbucks is one of the better ones.

In fact, I recently became a shareholder. Coincidentally, it was after the Ethiopian coffee trademarking incident. I would probably hae bought the shares even if they had not ceased opposing the Ethiopian government's (now successful) attempt to trademark their coffee. I was pretty sure they would eventually come to some accommodation. Additionally, the shares had sold off on declining profits, same-store sales, and store growth in the US. However, the market was discounting Starbucks' significant potential for international expansion. It's true there's a Starbucks on every corner of every major US city, but there's room to run abroad.

The stock was a compelling value. If you want to retire, you have to put money away. Most people will need to invest it in financial instruments to have enough money to retire. Everyone is going to be invested in companies like Exxon Mobil and Petrochina, which fund opposition to climate change research and genocide respectively.

If you're rich enough that you don't need to invest to be able to retire comfortably, then take a second look at the ethics of your business.

So, Starbucks, flaws and all, is a pretty good company to invest in. But, do we want a Starbucks on every street corner in every major city on the face of the Earth? Do we want slavery and union-busting in our coffee? The way businesses are set up now, they will grow and grow until they are physically unable to.

I don't have an answer, frankly. For those of you who say Starbucks is the devil, what about Exxon Mobil? Petrochina?