Costa's coffee is very tasty. As are its cakes. However, Costa's decision to stock free copies of The Sun newspaper for it's patrons to read leaves a very bad taste in my mouth. The Sun's Page 3 feature is an abomination, but by providing the paper free in its restaurants Costa is sending out the message that it is ok. Also, often the page is viewed openly and left around on the tables and is therefore seen by customers who do NOT wish to see it.

As a woman I find The Sun's Page 3 insulting and degrading. It gives the message that women are only to be seen as sexual objects. It can be incredibly damaging to girls and women's self esteem, and with an alarmingly large number of women undertaking plastic surgery to try to live up to these Page 3 type images, this is something we need to combat. It can also be very damaging to boys and men, who are constantly bombarded with pornographic images of women, skewing their idea of what a woman is, what a woman represents, and what a woman's value and role is in society. You can choose not to buy The Sun, but you can't choose not to see it, or for children not to see it, when someone is looking at it right in front of you in a cafe which is giving it away for free. 

Costa's website has a page named 'Responsibility' on which it claims "We care about the communities we serve and the world we live in". Well if that is the case then Costa will stop providing The Sun in its outlets on the request of this petition, signed by members of the communities it serves.