Reverend Billy joins Ethiopians to pressure Starbucks

Reminiscent of the fate of Victoria’s Secret

Reverend Billy, founder of the Church of Stop Shopping, joins the public movement calling on Starbucks to give Ethiopia what is rightfully hers.

The highly respected Reverend is known by many for his unparalleled role in the fight for global and environmental justice. He has run many successful corporate campaigns including the recent campaign against Victoria’s Secret to stop the “clear-cutting of virgin forests” from the Canadian Rockies Mountains. The glossy pages of Victoria's Secret catalogues have been targeted as environmentally destructive products. The Reverend helped end the two year campaign by environmentalists to convince the company to utilize recycled papers for its catalogues.

Reverend Billy once again stands for justice and is now siding with the Ethiopian farmers to correct the imbalance of power between Starbucks and Ethiopia. He wants to see Starbucks help the poor farmers help themselves out of poverty by making use of their only resources: the world known fine coffees they produce.

“There is real hunger in Ethiopia, and the shareholders in these companies are vastly wealthy,” the Reverend said, “we should use any leverage we can find.”

Reverend Billy called a public demonstration in New York City:

Venue: Astor Place Cube, Astor Place in Manhattan, New York, NY
Date: Saturday February 3, 2007
Time: 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

“Let's dance and exorcise some cash registers! Confront Starbucks for stealing the trademarks of Ethiopia's ancient coffees, like Sidamo and Harar. Honor the destitute farmers by defeating the $4 latte!” he said.

Members of the local Ethiopian community are supporting the Reverend's efforts. To participate, please leave your contact information here or at poorfarmer@gmail.com

For more information, visit http://www.revbilly.com/