A labor rights group sued Starbucks on Thursday, alleging that it sourced coffee from a major cooperative in Brazil whose member farms were cited for keeping workers in slave-like conditions.
International Rights Advocates filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington on behalf of eight Brazilian coffee farm workers.
The lawsuit alleges that Starbucks violated U.S. trafficking laws by continuing to buy coffee from Cooxupe even after Brazilian authorities repeatedly cited the cooperative for trafficking and forced labor violations.
