A group of eight Brazilian workers, including a teenager who was allegedly subjected to hazardous child labour, has filed a civil lawsuit in the United States against coffee giant Starbucks, accusing one of its suppliers of imposing slavery-like conditions on plantations in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state. The suit, supported by human rights organization International Rights Advocates (IRA), details harrowing accounts of exploitation, including unpaid labour, grueling hours, lack of protective equipment, and human trafficking.
The central figure in the lawsuit is a young man referred to only as “John” for safety reasons. Just days after turning 16, he was recruited and transported over 16 hours to work on a coffee farm. Upon arrival, he discovered that none of the conditions he had been promised—such as wages, accommodation, or safety gear—were fulfilled. Working from 5:30am to 6pm under the scorching sun with only a 20-minute lunch break, John was eventually rescued by Brazilian authorities in June 2024, who concluded he had been trafficked and subjected to forced child labour under hazardous conditions.
Alongside the civil lawsuit, the IRA and Coffee Watch filed a formal complaint with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), urging a ban on coffee imports “wholly or in part” produced using forced labour in Brazil. The complaint targets not only Starbucks, but other major corporations including Nestlé, Jacobs Douwe Egberts, Dunkin’, Illy, and McDonald’s, citing systemic abuses in Brazil’s coffee sector.
According to Etelle Higonnet, founder and director of Coffee Watch, this legal action could be a turning point in the fight against modern-day slavery in the coffee industry. “Thousands of people have been found in these conditions by Brazilian authorities, and clearly what has been done till now is not solving the problem,” she said.
Brazil has been the world’s largest coffee producer since the 19th century, a position historically built on the forced labour of enslaved Africans and Afro-Brazilians. Despite advancements in labour laws, Brazil’s coffee industry still leads in the number of workers rescued from slavery-like conditions, which may include debt bondage, excessive working hours, degrading accommodation and meals, and wage denial. Government records show that Afro-Brazilians represent 66% of those rescued, pointing to a deeply entrenched racial disparity in labour exploitation.
All eight plaintiffs in the Starbucks lawsuit live in quilombos—communities descended from escaped enslaved people that continue to experience poor living conditions, including high illiteracy rates and lack of basic sanitation. “The logic behind coffee production here is one of precarious labour that has always been imposed on Black people throughout our history,” said Jorge Ferreira dos Santos Filho, coordinator of the workers’ rights organization Adere, who himself has experienced forced labour.
Santos Filho emphasized the cycle of economic desperation that pushes vulnerable populations into exploitative labour. “In rural areas especially, we as Black people end up falling into these situations because we have no other choice and need to put food on the table,” he said. “It’s no use feeling sympathy for the workers or claiming zero tolerance for such practices if you continue drinking coffee without questioning its source.”
Despite Brazil’s legal framework that criminalizes forced labour with penalties of up to eight years in prison, prosecutions are rare. Even when farms are fined or added to the government’s “dirty list” of exploitative employers, companies like Starbucks reportedly continue to source from them. This has drawn sharp criticism from advocacy groups.
Terrence Collingsworth, executive director of IRA, called the situation “morally repugnant,” adding, “The fact that Starbucks charges like $6 for a cup of coffee, where most of that has been harvested by forced labourers and child labourers, is really beyond a criminal act.”
In response, Starbucks defended its sourcing practices, highlighting its “Coffee and Farmer Equity (C.A.F.E.) Practices” program, which the company describes as one of the industry’s first ethical sourcing standards. “Developed in collaboration with Conservation International, C.A.F.E. Practices is a verification program that promotes transparent, profitable, and sustainable coffee growing practices while also protecting the well-being of coffee farmers and workers,” a Starbucks spokesperson stated.
However, activists remain unconvinced, asserting that systemic change requires accountability and consumer awareness. “To put an end to this, we need consumers to be aware that every cup of coffee they drink, without questioning its true origin, is financing slave labour in coffee production,” Santos Filho warned.