Comments on: Certification challenges, part VII: Global Exchange http://greenlagirl.com/2006/02/22/certification-challenges-part-vii-global-exchange/ Urban environmental lifestyle blog in Los Angeles Thu, 20 Nov 2008 23:11:49 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 By: Siel http://greenlagirl.com/2006/02/22/certification-challenges-part-vii-global-exchange/#comment-8924 Siel Thu, 20 Jul 2006 06:17:23 +0000 http://greenlagirl.com/2006/02/22/certification-challenges-part-vii-global-exchange/#comment-8924 Hey Liz -- TFUSA is a nonprofit, so its "money making" efforts are somewhat different than a "regular" company. For ex: it's unlikely that individuals within TFUSA would see personal financial gain from getting more licensing fees -- the issue has more to do with the "splash" TFUSA wants to create (as in being able to send out a press release that says "look! we're doing 25% or whatever more!). After I put the copy of the TFUSA statement above went up, I got emails from current TFUSA people expressing both outrage and shock that TFUSA had done such a thing (The org has high turnover, so many people who work there don't have a long institutional history -- the statement was news to many of them). Which is to say that while I don't think TFUSA was "coerced" by Starbucks, the org certainly seems to've been perhaps too sensitive to Starbucks' point of view. I'd like to think that's been changing -- Hey Liz — TFUSA is a nonprofit, so its “money making” efforts are somewhat different than a “regular” company. For ex: it’s unlikely that individuals within TFUSA would see personal financial gain from getting more licensing fees — the issue has more to do with the “splash” TFUSA wants to create (as in being able to send out a press release that says “look! we’re doing 25% or whatever more!).

After I put the copy of the TFUSA statement above went up, I got emails from current TFUSA people expressing both outrage and shock that TFUSA had done such a thing (The org has high turnover, so many people who work there don’t have a long institutional history — the statement was news to many of them).

Which is to say that while I don’t think TFUSA was “coerced” by Starbucks, the org certainly seems to’ve been perhaps too sensitive to Starbucks’ point of view.

I’d like to think that’s been changing –

]]> By: Liz http://greenlagirl.com/2006/02/22/certification-challenges-part-vii-global-exchange/#comment-8885 Liz Wed, 19 Jul 2006 23:12:06 +0000 http://greenlagirl.com/2006/02/22/certification-challenges-part-vii-global-exchange/#comment-8885 This is most interesting. Why hasn't anyone else commented on this? Is TFUSA (a company that profits from licensing fees is gets from Starbucks) lying in saying they don't want people to pressure Starbucks to do more business with them? Don't they make more money if Starbucks does more business with them? Have they been coerced, coopted by the Mermaid - phoned late at night and forced to write an "I Heart Starbucks" statement? Or do they really mean what they say? This is most contradictory and confounding to me. This is most interesting. Why hasn’t anyone else commented on this? Is TFUSA (a company that profits from licensing fees is gets from Starbucks) lying in saying they don’t want people to pressure Starbucks to do more business with them? Don’t they make more money if Starbucks does more business with them? Have they been coerced, coopted by the Mermaid - phoned late at night and forced to write an “I Heart Starbucks” statement? Or do they really mean what they say?

This is most contradictory and confounding to me.

]]> By: mateotemprano http://greenlagirl.com/2006/02/22/certification-challenges-part-vii-global-exchange/#comment-1686 mateotemprano Thu, 23 Feb 2006 20:01:55 +0000 http://greenlagirl.com/2006/02/22/certification-challenges-part-vii-global-exchange/#comment-1686 Hey BAFTD: How does this jibe with your statements about TFUSA being wary of SBUX? Sounds like maybe they are more wary of GX. When we left TFUSA we noted this public statement by TF as a factor. When talking about the history of the FT movement, litlle gems like this seemed to be missing. Frankly, in the words of my dear old grandma, this lapdog-like public statement is "just shameful". -Matt Hey BAFTD:

How does this jibe with your statements about TFUSA being wary of SBUX? Sounds like maybe they are more wary of GX. When we left TFUSA we noted this public statement by TF as a factor. When talking about the history of the FT movement, litlle gems like this seemed to be missing. Frankly, in the words of my dear old grandma, this lapdog-like public statement is “just shameful”.

-Matt

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