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Starbucks Invests Additional $2.5 Million in EcoLogic Finance

Starbucks Coffee Company (Nasdaq:SBUX) has provided an additional $2.5 million in loan funds to EcoLogic Finance, a nonprofit organization offering innovative low-interest loans to coffee and cocoa farmers in environmentally sensitive areas of Latin America and Africa. This additional funding increases Starbucks loans to EcoLogic Finance to a total of $5 million since 2002, offering critical financial resources and a source of hope for struggling farm communities. While loans Starbucks previously made to EcoLogic Finance provided funds entirely for coffee farmers, $500,000 of the additional funding is earmarked for cocoa farmers, as they experience many of the same economic, environmental and social issues faced by coffee growers. In 2004, Starbucks also contributed $50,000 to EcoLogic Finance for financial literacy and capacity training projects for smallholder farmers in Latin America. Starbucks believes it is the single largest private lender of loans to smallholder farmers in coffee growing regions with a total commitment of $8.5 million in loan capital to date, including loans to EcoLogic Finance, Conservation International’s Verde Ventures and the Calvert Foundation. As the loans are not restricted to only Starbucks suppliers, the funds have provided much-needed credit to a broad range of coffee farmers throughout Latin America and Africa. […]

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EarthShell Corporation Signs New Licensee

EarthShell Corporation (OTCBB:ERTH), manufacturers of biodegradable food service packaging, has signed ReNewable Products, Inc. (RPI) as its newest licensee. The concept of developing RPI, as a new entity, was the result of collaboration between Thompson Street Capital. RPI, as part of TSCP and with funding from them, has placed a binding purchase order with Detroit Tool & Engineering (DTE) for an initial 16 equipment modules. In turn, EarthShell Corp. and RPI have signed a 20% royalty bearing exclusive license which allows RPI to produce EarthShell’s environmentally preferable plates and bowls for the important and growing U.S. Mass Merchandising & Retail markets as well as all government agencies. In their market space, RPI will be targeting EarthShell plates and bowls to customers such as Wal-Mart, Costco, Target, K-Mart, the Interior Department, Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Defense and many other valuable and strategic customers to include government funded schools, colleges and universities. As part of more detailed plans to begin shipping EarthShell plates and bowls this quarter, DTE, a licensed EarthShell equipment producer, will lease 40,000 sq. ft of manufacturing space, in a separate part of its facilities in Lebanon, Missouri, to RPI. In so doing, the companies are cooperating […]

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