Contact: Jamie Evan Bichelman
Email: gro.doog4hctiws@beimaj
Evidence-based nonprofit Switch4Good worked with a Starbucks corporate informant, managers, and baristas in a campaign targeting Starbucks corporate leadership. One CEO change later, and the unjust non-dairy costs are poised to be removed.
SEATTLE — After years of outreach to Starbucks corporate leadership, urging the coffee giant to remove the upcharge for non-dairy milk alternatives — a policy rooted in dietary racism — Starbucks leadership took heed of Switch4Good’s latest campaign at Seattle headquarters and announced their intention to remove the upcharge on Nov. 7.
Working with a Starbucks corporate informant this summer and fall, Switch4Good founder and Olympic medalist Dotsie Bausch’s outreach to Starbucks leadership exposed the global coffee company’s ultra-secretive baseline shifting of climate goals that was never intended to be disclosed to the public. Starbucks leadership was discovered to engage in data manipulation by changing their reporting baseline when they failed to meet their goals, neglecting to address these changes in a transparent manner with the public.
Additionally, Switch4Good uncovered a pattern of price gouging that disproportionately affected customers of color.
“Uncovering Starbucks’ overt corporate greed and their secret climate baseline shifting is what finally tipped the scales in favor of dropping the plant milk upcharge,” Bausch, the founder and executive director of Switch4Good, said. “Starbucks’ new CEO certainly didn’t want any of their shady dealings released to their customers or to their board of directors, which unveiled layers of climate commitment fraud and price gouging customers.”
An announcement “years in the making”
Prior to Starbucks announcing its intention to cease charging extra for non-dairy milk in the U.S., Switch4Good campaigns successfully pressured Starbucks to drop the upcharge in the UK, Chile, France, and throughout most of Europe.
The groundbreaking announcement in the U.S., however, finally puts an end to the company’s policy rooted in a concept known as dietary racism, which has netted Starbucks $1 billion in profits thanks to an astounding upcharge of nearly 800% on non-dairy milk alternatives in U.S. stores.
Armed with insight from baristas and managers throughout the U.S., as well as explosive information from the corporate informant, Bausch authored a formal letter to Starbucks’ Senior Leadership this summer. Outreach at major Starbucks locations throughout Seattle ensued, accompanied by a roving billboard imploring Starbucks leadership to drop the upcharge. One CEO change later, and the company is finally meeting Switch4Good’s years-long demands.
To schedule an interview with Dotsie Bausch, contact gro.doog4hctiws@beimaj.
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About Switch4Good
Switch4Good is an evidence-based nonprofit that advocates for a dairy-free world and plant-based living. Founded in 2018 by Olympic medalist Dotsie Bausch, Switch4Good’s mission is to combat the distortion and disrupt the misinformation fed to us by the dairy industry. Switch4Good partnered with health experts, athletes, and the International Olympic Committee to write the first playbook for plant-based athletes titled “Let the Plant-based Games Begin.” The organization teamed up with Washington legislators to introduce the ADD SOY Act, a bill currently before Congress to get soy milk added as an option in U.S. schools. Switch4Good’s new Kids and Dairy Symptoms program (KiDS) is purposed with educating doctors, dietitians, and parents about the harm drinking cow’s milk does to kids. For more information, please visit www.switch4good.org.