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Acclaimed actor Alicia Silverstone is urging Starbucks to ‘make a genuine effort’ to tackle the climate crisis by dropping its vegan milk surcharge.
The Clueless star made the request in her latest blog post for The Kind Life.
Alicia Silverstone
“The market trends, and alarming scientific data linking climate change and the dairy industry (not to mention the animal rights issues!) point towards an obvious need for phasing out dairy products,” Silverstone wrote.
“If Starbucks hopes to meet its goal of reducing 50 percent of its carbon emissions, water use, and waste by 2030… An obvious first step is to ensure that the environmentally-friendly options are accessible to everyone by lowering the price of their non-dairy options.
“Not penalizing those of us who are already choosing sustainable, kind products.”
The celeb also debunked arguments that non-dairy creamers are more expensive, and therefore require a surcharge.
“Looking at Starbucks’ profit margin per cup, that argument falls flat,” Silverstone added.
“Coffee is about $8 a pound, and Starbucks likely gets it for cheaper buying in bulk, which gets you about 26 cups of coffee.
“So, for just the coffee, that’s about 30 cents a cup. The average cost of a coffee drink sells for around $3-$4, in 2021.”
Vegan milk surcharge
Earlier this year, fellow actor Alan Cumming also urged the coffee chain to ditch its vegan milk surcharge. The star wrote a letter to Canada Senior Vice President Lori Digulla.
It reads: “More than a year ago… Starbucks acknowledged that cow’s milk is the company’s biggest source of carbon dioxide emissions.
“Yet it continues to penalize customers for making green and humane choices by charging them extra for vegan milk…
“If Starbucks really wants to help the planet, it must do more than just talk about its goals. It’s time to take action.”
