Starbucks Corp: Disclosure of Microplastic Risk Reduction Practices

WHEREAS: Exposure to microplastics poses significant health, safety, reputational, litigation, and long-term financial viability concerns for companies and consumers alike. Microplastics are plastic fragments smaller than 5 millimeters,[1] made up of 4,200 chemicals of concern,[2] including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), known as “forever chemicals.” PFAS from plastics can accumulate in human bodies, leading to a range of serious human health impacts, including reproductive harm, cancer, immune dysfunction, and developmental issues, amplifying long-term liability and reputational concerns.[3] Individuals are more susceptible to these health impacts when ingesting microplastics.

The Center for Environmental Health found that Starbucks’ Teavana tea bags contain plastic.[4] When steeped in hot water, tea bags made with plastic release billions of microplastics directly into the tea, increasing consumers’ exposure to harmful chemicals such as PFAS and associated health risks.[5] Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of such harm and, in turn, purchasing fewer products containing plastic.[6]

The estimated health costs of disease and disability in the U.S. from plastic-associated chemicals totaled $249 billion in 2018 alone.[7] The number of lawsuits addressing plastics and chemicals of concern are on the rise; analysts predict that litigation costs will exceed $20 billion by 2030 across the plastics value chain.[8]

While Starbucks has a goal to reduce plastics in its packaging by 5% by 2030,[9] it fails to address whether this goal is adequate to address or avoid the human health impacts from exposing consumers to microplastics and the harmful chemicals in its products contain plastics. It is also unclear whether the Company’s plastics reduction goal extends to tea bags across its brand portfolio. Starbucks also publicly announced a commitment to eliminate PFAS from all U.S. packaging by the end of 2022, then quietly eliminated the commitment.

Plastic-free tea bags, available through a number of manufacturers, do not expose customers to plastics and therefore can reduce harm and liability associated with plastics exposure:

Stash Tea reports its use of natural fiber and GMO-free cotton tea bags instead of plastic.[10]
Yogi Tea publicly discloses its tea bags are free of plastic and chemical processing; instead, its bags are composed of hemp and wood pulp.[11]
The Republic of Tea only uses unbleached tea paper bags, free of plastic, chemicals, and glues.[12]

In a competitive marketplace increasingly demanding safe products and reduced harm to human health, shareholders seek information on how Starbucks plans to manage and reduce the presence of microplastics and harmful chemicals in products across its brand portfolio.

BE IT RESOLVED: Shareholders request that Starbucks issue a public report, at reasonable cost and omitting proprietary information, disclosing if and how the Company plans to manage the health risks associated with microplastics and PFAS chemicals in its products.

[1] https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/everything-you-should-know-about-microplastics

[2] https://www.genevaenvironmentnetwork.org/resources/updates/plastics-and-health/

[3] https://www.pfas.des.nh.gov/health-impacts, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8743032/

[4] https://ceh.org/yourhealth/plastic-in-my-tea-bag/

[5] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665927126001255

[6] https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/1-in-3-americans-say-theyve-reduced-how-much-plastic-theyre-using

[7] https://academic.oup.com/jes/article/8/2/bvad163/7513992

[8] https://planet-tracker.org/unpacking-the-plastic-value-chain-litigation-risks-and-legal-implications/

[9] https://about.starbucks.com/uploads/2026/06/Starbucks-Fiscal-2025-Global-Impact-Report.pdf, p.6

[10] https://www.stashtea.com/pages/about-stash-tea

[11] https://yogi-life.com/en-US/about-us/our-process

[12] https://www.republicoftea.com/blogs/tea-library/our-tea-bags