Social Responsibility and Consumers
STARBUCKS
Average Rating: 2
Why is it a 2?
Website: 2 (Vague)
Ethos Water Website
Explanation of Rating:
The Ethos Water website lacks any substantial information about where product proceeds going towards its mission of, “helping children get clean water”. The website states, “So far more than $12.3 million has been granted to help support water, sanitation and hygiene education programs in water-stressed countries” It simply explains that grants go out to nonprofits but does not list any nonprofits that received them. It also claims in 2014 grants were given to 6 NGOs but does not say for what nor does it show any results from the grants. It does say any recent years or any other year but 2014. This was deemed vague for a consumer because it claims to “help children get clean water” but there is no satisfactory evidence of this claim.
Email Correspondence: 2 (Vague)
My original email
Starbucks first response
My response
Starbucks final response
Explanation of Rating:
Shown above are my email correspondences between myself and Starbucks. The response time from a corporation was fairly quick, about 1-2 days from their form. Initially I looked for a direct email to contact Starbucks or Ethos Water but the website directed me to a form. The form on the Starbucks website gave an option for the topic of corporate social responsibility. I filled out the form explaining I was a frequent buyer of Ethos Water and wanted to know more information about where the proceeds went after my purchase of the water bottle. The representative responded with some information about nonprofits the Starbucks foundation was giving to and also included a link to an article written in 2008 about Ethos Water. I was very surprised by how old the article was and no recent information was given to me. So, the next email I sent asked if there was more recent information available. The last email from the representative said to try and contact someone via the ethoswater.com website. However, when I clicked the link to the website it sent me back to the original vague website. In these emails we can clearly see they tried to give me information that was easily found on the website. Nothing new was learned from contacting Starbucks about Ethos Water via email.
Social Media: 1: Extremely Vague
Instagram: @Starbucks
Facebook: @Starbucks Coffee
Twitter: @Starbucks
Explanation of Rating:
On Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, there was no sign of Ethos Water. On the pages were advertisements for new drinks and hiring veterans. There was also mention of sustainable coffee sourcing but nothing about the only bottled water available in Starbucks stores.
Customer Representative: 2 (Vague)
Explanation of Rating:
I called the customer service number supplied on the website, the wait time was fairly normal, 5-10 minutes. I asked about Ethos Water and the representative began to talk about the origin of Ethos and once again, the 2014 grants. The representative had no more information to provide aside from what was on the website. I called 3 different days, at 3 different times but received the same answer each time.
Product Packaging: 3 (Neutral)
Explanation of Rating:
The Ethos Water bottle packaging shows a world map and in the front says the slogan, “helping children get clean water”. I say the packaging is neutral because you understand from the packaging that the intention of this water bottle company is to help children get clean water. Comparatively to Poland Spring or Nestlé water bottle there is a connection to a social cause immediately when looking at the bottle. It is not hidden or misleading in my observation but it is not necessarily clear either.