The National Center for Public Policy Research is pressing Starbucks to shut down two newly opened stores in Xinjiang, China, calling the coffee chain's expansion into the region "appalling" just days after filing a shareholder proposal demanding disclosure about forced labor risks in the company's solar supply chains. The National Center's Free Enterprise Project filed the demand in an October 2 letter, asking Starbucks' board to investigate why management chose to enter Xinjiang and to respond within 30 days. Xinjiang has faced longstanding allegations of forced labor and human rights abuses against the Uyghur population.
The timing of the store openings has amplified scrutiny. On September 28, the Free Enterprise Project submitted a shareholder proposal for Starbucks' 2027 annual meeting requesting yearly reports on how the company confirms its renewable-energy solar equipment is free from Xinjiang inputs and state-imposed labor-transfer programs elsewhere in China. The proposal covers solar modules, cells, wafers, polysilicon, and metallurgical-grade silicon, asking Starbucks to reveal whether it can trace these materials through the supply chain and identify verification gaps. Days later, Starbucks opened two locations in Urumqi, Xinjiang's capital—one at the Grand Bazaar and another at the international airport. Rep. John Moolenaar, chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, called the expansion a "shocking and morally bankrupt decision."
"It is appalling that Starbucks is now selling coffee to Chinese Communist Party elites as they commit crimes against humanity and ethnic genocide," said Free Enterprise Project Executive Director Steve Milloy in the letter to Starbucks. The shareholder proposal itself challenges Starbucks to weigh human-rights risks tied to its climate agenda against what it describes as the "extraordinarily small potential climate benefit" from renewable electricity, stating that "those increments are trivial" while "forced-labor and UFLPA exposure in silicon used to support '100% renewable' claims is not." Milloy added that Starbucks shareholders "deserve to know why a company that sells itself on social responsibility is willing to expose its brand to these risks."
The Free Enterprise Project is also pressuring Starbucks' major institutional shareholders—Morgan Stanley, BlackRock, and State Street—to use their influence to support the demand that the company close the Xinjiang stores. The National Center argues that Starbucks faces a growing contradiction: how can the company square its public commitments to human rights and corporate responsibility with sourcing risks in its green-energy supply chain and the decision to do business in a region at the center of genocide allegations? China has denied accusations of genocide and widespread human rights abuses in Xinjiang, but for Starbucks' board, the question is becoming harder to dodge.
The Free Enterprise Project is framing this as a test of whether Starbucks can maintain its social-responsibility branding while operating in Xinjiang and potentially sourcing solar materials linked to forced labor. Milloy summed up the challenge: "Starbucks cannot have it both ways. It cannot market itself as a champion of human rights and sustainability while refusing to tell shareholders whether its green-energy supply chain is connected to forced labor—and then turn around and open stores in Xinjiang." The organization is demanding immediate store closures and full board disclosure, setting a 30-day deadline for Starbucks to explain its Xinjiang strategy to shareholders.