Calls to boycott Starbucks have seemingly hit the company’s sales. In fact, this month, the chain reported a slowdown in sales in January 2024.

Boycotts have taken different forms, protests, vandalism, and online posts all urge consumers to avoid the chain. Starbucks is one of the many companies being targeted by these widespread boycotts.

Calls to shun the coffee company mainly stem from a dispute between the chain and its workers’ union. Two days after Hamas attacked Israel, the union posted a now-deleted statement on X declaring “solidarity with Palestine”.

This prompted Starbucks to file a lawsuit against the union for trademark infringement due to its use of the Starbucks name and a similar logo. The union rebutted with a countersuit.

Moreover, Starbucks Malta has spoken out to ensure that it does not fund governments or conflicts and states that it condemns “violence, the loss of innocent life and all hate and weaponised speech”.

It further explained a bit more about its dispute with the labour unions, saying that the social media statements “created confusion, leading to threats to our partners, damage to our stores, and calls for boycott”.

“Starbucks respects others’ right to express their own viewpoints about the conflict in the Middle East and other political and social issues. However, Starbucks does not approve of the misuse of the Starbucks name and logos when expressing those views.”

It then clarified that Starbucks has a presence in the Middle East with “About 19,000 employees serving millions of customers each day”.

What do you make of Starbucks Malta’s statement?