Seattle-based coffee company Tully’s is implementing a handful of environmentally friendly business practices in hopes of pulling customers away from Starbucks, the Seattle Post Intelligencer reports. The company will increase prices to help offset the costs involved.
Tully’s said its stores will use 100 percent certified Fair Trade and organic espresso for drinks, fully compostable paper cups for hot beverages and low E fluorescent lighting. Tully’s also will begin a recycling collection program, which includes coffee grounds, in its stores.
The company, which is in five states, will roll out the programs in about one-third of the stores and transition the rest during the next six months.
To pay for its new programs and to offset the rising cost of milk and coffee, Tully’s is raising its prices 3.5 percent, or just less than 11 cents per drink. In July, Starbucks raised its drink prices by an average of 9 cents.