Starbucks Acquires Ethos Water - $1M to Support Clean Water Efforts

Starbucks Leadership in Corporate Social Responsibility will Enhance Ethos Water’s Mission to Help Children Around the World Get Clean Water

Starbucks announced its acquisition of Ethos™ Water, a privately held bottled water company based in Santa Monica, Calif. Additionally, the Company announced its commitment to meet Ethos Water's previously stated goal to donate $250,000 by the end of fiscal 2005, and to donate an incremental $1 million by the end of fiscal 2006, to support water projects in developing countries around the world. Ethos Water will be available in Starbucks Company-operated stores in the U.S. later this year. The asset purchase transaction closed on April 6, 2005 and is not expected to have an impact on Starbucks previously stated financial targets. Other terms were not disclosed.

Ethos Water was founded in 2002 by two entrepreneurs, Jonathan Greenblatt and Peter Thum. Ethos Water’s mission is to help children around the world get clean water by supporting water projects in developing countries. Ethos is currently directing funds to support water projects in Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Honduras, India and Kenya.

“Starbucks and Ethos share a deep passion to improve global communities,” said Jim Donald, Starbucks president and chief executive officer. “Peter and Jonathan’s values and vision for Ethos mirror the culture and values of Starbucks. We see a unique opportunity to give back by leveraging these synergies and by making an ongoing commitment to helping children around the world get clean water as a key element of Starbucks corporate social responsibility efforts.”

“When we founded Ethos, it was important to us that no matter how large we would grow, social responsibility would always remain a core principle of our company,” said Jonathan Greenblatt and Peter Thum, Ethos co-founders. “Starbucks strong brand, culture and unwavering commitment to sustainable communities aligns perfectly with these goals. We are thrilled with the opportunity to grow the Ethos brand and realize our vision. As part of Starbucks, our potential to help children around the world get clean water is beyond what we had imagined.”

Starbucks has a long history of giving back to communities where it operates through social and environmental programs and projects. In addition, the Company has received numerous awards for its leadership in sustainable business practices. In January 2005, Starbucks was awarded the World Environment Center’s award for C.A.F.E. (Coffee and Farmer Equity) Practices, Starbucks coffee buying guidelines. Additionally, Starbucks recently released its fourth annual Corporate Social Responsibility Report, the full text of which is available on Starbucks.com.

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