Boycott Gloria Jean’s is asking Gloria Jean’s Coffees to explain political donations made to the Family First Party in 2005 and the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) in 2010. Recently unearthed

Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) documents show that Jireh International – who trades exclusively as Gloria Jean’s Coffees – donated thousands of dollars to Family First via a third party. This contradicts claims by Gloria Jean’s that the company made a “once off” donation to fringe politics with an anti-human rights stance.

A grassroots campaign formed earlier this month, after AEC figures revealed Gloria Jean’s donated $30,000 to the anti-gay political organisation, ACL, in the 2010-2011 financial year. (Document here) The group’s Facebook page, “Boycott Gloria Jeans for funding homophobia,” has now attracted over 6,800 supporters and has a social media reach of 400,000.

Last week it was revealed that the trust Families Australia donated $105,000 to Family First during the 2004-2005 financial year. (Document here) Jireh International is cited as the source of $10,000 of these donations. Families Australia has since been revealed as a significant donor to the political organisation. (Report here) Another document shows that Jireh International donated $5,000 to the NSW Liberal party during the same financial period. (Document here) The donation to the NSW Liberal Party occurred only months after the Marriage Act 2004 was signed into law, which denies marriage equality from judicial review.

“These documents show Gloria Jean’s is a serial offender. The company has a clear history of donating to anti-gay political organisations,” boycott spokesperson, Luke Mansillo, said.

“The claim that it was a ‘once off donation’ is a categorical lie that has been exposed. Gloria Jean’s has yet to rule out donating to ACL, or other discriminatory organisations, in the future.”

“Everybody has a friend or family member who is Queer-identifying so we ought to know if we are funding hatred of the people we love.”

These revelations have fuelled a strong social media backlash against Gloria Jean’s. Hundreds have stormed the official Gloria Jean’s Facebook page to voice their frustrations. Gloria Jean’s has responded by removing public posts and deleting comments. They have also avoided posting on social media since June 15th , for fear of further reprisal.

Disclosure of the company’s donation to ACL also resulted in the withdrawal of headspace, the national youth mental health initiative, from RUOK? Day, a youth suicide awareness campaign. In a statement released earlier this month, headspace cited “a moral and ethical duty” to withdraw due to the involvement of Gloria Jean’s, who is a major sponsor of the campaign. (Link here)

Gloria Jean’s has previously attracted criticism for funding Mercy Ministries – an organisation that conducted gay “conversion therapy” – in the past. (Report here)
Luke Mansillo