Red Starbucks Controversy

Woods coffee does not support what Starbucks coffee supports they are a religious company.Woods coffee is a Christian company, therefore it does not support Starbucks, a LGBTQ+ company. The owner is also Christian and in all Woods coffee shops you may notice that he plays a Christian radio station. When Bellingham was having a gay pride parade, the owner of woods coffee didn’t want the parade to go in front of his store because of economic reasons but mostly because of his religion. In the King James version Bible,

Our mission: to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time. Starbucks has lived up to that motto each and every year and with such great numbers and great feedback the company keeps on growing in the right direction. Starbucks is well known around the world for delivering fast, efficient coffee in all forms. From their frappachino’s, to their brew coffee and ice tea they are definitely the set example that other company’s in their area follow. They live by six principles that they practice each and every day they represent there coffee which has always been there passion to deliver

Starbucks value statement says, "Creating a culture of warmth and belonging, where everyone is welcome" (Starbucks). In November of 2015, Starbucks, the popular coffeehouse chain, released their Holiday-themed cups. Shockingly, they were plain red, a simple cup. These cups were an extreme difference when compared to years past, where they featured vintage ornaments or hand-drawn reindeer. To say the least, the conservative community was outraged at these red cups, which were seen as politically correct or offensive. These two articles: "Starbucks 'removed Christmas from their cups because they hate Jesus, ' Christian says in viral Facebook video," written by Justin Wm. Moyer; and "Satire: Red Cup Controversy" written by Jessica Machado, justify the claim that the conservatives were outraged at the values these cups illustrated. To capture the controversy, Machado and Moyer use similar sources and appeals to value, but deal differently with opposition and appeals to logic. When creating this argument, satire is a more effective rhetorical strategy than straightforward rhetoric because it has the power to exaggerate the situation and produce richer appeals to value and logic.

Starbucks, a large corporation that sells trendy coffee, has a well-known tradition of creating holiday cups to go along with their seasonal drinks. There is also a tradition of criticizing the cups. In 2015, the year of controversy over the Starbucks holiday cups, Christians had the perception that Judah-Christian values were being attacked under the Obama Administration. Author Emma Green, wrote “The Inanity of the Starbucks Christmas Cup ‘Controversy’,” published in 2015 in The Atlantic, she argues that in order for a business such as Starbucks to appeal to all of their consumers they need to express neutral seasonal greeting, to appeal to a broad and diverse consumer base throughout the world, a lot of which is not Christian or religious. Emma Green establishes her argument by using quotes from very influential people and a great number of facts from reputable sources. Green’s argument is able to appeal to her readers with her use of sarcasm, ethos, and logos.

The target audiences are ready for bring their reusable mug to get free drinks in campaign day. They do not worry about anything.Starbucks owes its success to a well-defined target audience!

It’s no surprise, that Starbucks has been one of the most successful businesses in the world. Since 1971, Starbucks has managed to expand beyond 50 states and 6 continents opening over 22,000 stores worldwide. Starbucks has been an exemplary business championing social justice topics such as LGBT rights and immigration. Each Starbucks store provides an elegant and friendly environment where people of all walks of life come to enjoy a cup of coffee and enjoy the company. However, while CEO, Howard Schultz has been adamant about inclusion and diversity, Latinos and African Americans are still lagging behind Whites as Starbucks consumers. In 2014, the population of Latinos in the United States was 55.3 million and by 2060, it is expected that could grow to 119 million. The Latino population has a purchasing power of $1 trillion and is soon to surpass millennials as the largest group with buying power (Catering to

The policemen of political correctness have demanded that the silent majority bend its knee to a vocal minority’” (Moyer), but his opinion is not common in the general population. The majority of people agree with the removal of the snowflake as stated by one person, “‘Starbucks is trying to remain neutral and be culturally sensitive to everyone by leaving them blank. You are offended that they don't say Merry Christmas, but Jewish people would be offended if it only said that, not Happy Hanukkah. So they are leaving them blank so they can't offend anyone’”

While their customers are an uncontrollable force, Starbucks can control how they respond to customers. In June of 2014 I went to a Starbucks drive-thru and received a drink that was mostly milk when I had asked for light milk. When I asked them to remake my drink the Barista told me they were too busy and I would need to drive around and re-order – this directly conflicts with the SBP “Love your beverage or let us know. We'll always make it right” (“Our Barista Promise”). Instead I took my milky drink, snapped a picture and uploaded it to the Starbucks Facebook page. Within 10 minutes there were multiple comments on the post, and a Starbucks representative asking me to send them my

Although there was some bad publicity, most of the talk on social media was actually defending Starbucks for their choice on the plain red holiday cup. So I guess they did benefit quite a bit from this past holiday season. The #ItsJustACup mocked those who made the plain cup such a big ordeal. I do not think Starbucks hates Christmas or Jesus. I believe people decided to blow it out of proportion and everyone wants to complain about something. Starbucks just so happened to be in the line of fire this time around. The next time it will be someone else and sadly there always will be someone else. Every side of this controversy has some type of evidence to say what they believe is true. The hardest part is deciding for yourself it its true. Do you believe that Starbucks hates Jesus because they decided to go with a plain red cup? If so, you are missing the true point of Christmas and you should rethink how you view your religion because it shouldn’t be based on a cup or what other people

Starbucks has yet to spend a dime on advertising their holiday beverages. The Starbucks spokesperson also said, “our core value as a company is to create a culture of belonging, inclusion, and diversity, something Christ did himself. Not saying Starbucks is a Christian company, but as a Christian and a former pastor Joshua Feuerstein should have known this. Now because of his actions all Christians are looked at as a bunch of judgmental religious hypocrites, but we’re all a mess and we need God.

Starbucks mission is to "inspire and nurture the human spirit-- one person, one cup, and one neighbourhood at a time.”

Starbucks customers are diverse, well educated, young business people looking for a quick and easy way to grab coffee on their way to work. Starbucks values a strong relationship with their customers so they are

Starbucks is renowned for its morality due to their innovative sustainability and environmental policies and operations. They strive to go beyond mandated regulations by implementing ethics as part of their core practices. However, no matter how flawless their code of ethics is; they, too, face ethical issues and commit unethical acts. First, they are responsible for putting small, local coffee shops out of business which creates a uniform retail culture throughout cities. Second, they advertise to provide 100% fair trade coffee when it is not truly 100% fairly traded. Third, they use hormone added milk that is detrimental to the human body as well as the environment. Fourth, they set unrealistic, unattainable recycling goals, so they were unachievable; in turn, their trustworthiness is hindered and their reputation is tarnished. Lastly, it was revealed that Starbucks discovered ways to avoid paying taxes in the UK. To this day, Starbucks continues to be recognized as an ethical company. Although sometimes controversial, they are innovatively striving to positively change the ways of society and business operations.

Starbucks is and will continue to be one of the largest distributers of a cup of coffee today and into the future.  The Starbucks mission to “inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time” directly correlates with the experience a customer has in each store. They have many ways to differentiate in comparison to competitors because they provide an experience while shopping for a coffee allowing them to charge a premium price.

Starbucks acted ethically after their financial scare by upgrading their coffee equipment for their customers. Also, Starbucks added a new menu item to offer customers a more dynamic selection in their stores. Starbucks began to think more along the lines of a small mom and pop coffee shop to fit in with the local stores. To continue, Starbucks plays a significant ethical role within the community. Starbucks donates too many charitable causes within the community. Also, Starbucks allows their customers to provide feedback about their local coffee shop. Due to this ethical behavior, Starbucks gains new customers by offering them a place to relax and give their input on their