Following a depressing U.S. labor report for May, Starbucks Corp. on Tuesday introduced a new line of U.S.-made merchandize that it said will help support American jobs.
The coffee giant will sell a limited-edition collection of mug, tumbler, brewed coffee, and bag of coffee to raise money for its Create Jobs for USA fund, which was created last November after the company’s CEO Howard Schultz pledged to play a bigger role in stimulating the U.S. economy.
“In these troubling economic times, we believe that we can all do our part to help make a positive impact on the jobs crisis facing our country,” Schultz said in a statement.
The 16-ounce acrylic tumbler is made in Chicago, the whole bean coffee is blended, roasted, and packaged in the United States, and the 16-ounce ceramic mug is made with domestically sourced raw materials at the American Mug & Stein factory in East Liverpool, Ohio.
The coffee chain said that after Starbucks’ order, the formerly struggling factory expanded its workforce from 14 to 22.
Starbucks has raised more than $11.5 million for the jobs fund, an amount that it said can be leveraged to create up to $80 million in loans to community businesses and organizations. Citi, one of the nation’s largest banks, supported the fund with a $1 million donation.
In turn, the beneficiaries can create nearly 4,000 new jobs across the country, Starbucks said, even though it will still be a long way to go with 12.7 million Americans out of work with 8.2 percent of national unemployment rate. The loan recipients include Alliance Schools in Lincoln Heights, which used funds for campus construction, bookstores, supermarkets, and bakeries.
The Department of Labor reported that only 69,000 jobs were added in May, the smallest gain in a year.
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