To take a moment of your time to remind, or inform, you all about the Nestlé boycott?

[Richocet]

www.wehelpwarvictims.org/2011/09/nestle-markets-coffee-creamer-to-mothers-who-mistake-it-for-infant-formula/

I've just read this, and thought I would share.

I hope the link works, am on phone!

The link worked! I didn't know about this so thanks for bringing it to my attention

fwiw I think most on mn are aware of nestle boycott (although not beyond mn ime)

Personally I think it's a complete waste of time and effort and is only a personal cause as boycotts make absolutely no difference, as the ever increasing growth of nestle is evidence...

No problem Debsbear

I did think that was the case, wannaBe, hence the 'remind'

Thank you for that.

I think there are many women who, on principal, don't want to contribute towards the profits of a company whose marketing practices have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of babies in developing countries over the years.

However, there are probably more who are prepared to compromise the principal of not rewarding companies who persist with deeply unethical practices, if it means restricting their own snack choices.

I disagree with that.

The fact is that most multinational companies partake in dubious practices.

How many of them do you boycott?

do you:

drink products manufactured by coca cola? (deeply questionable practices both in terms of water consumption, employee rights in the developing world, and distribution of coke to countries and encouragement of it being used as a drink for very young children)

Tesco? (the word attempted monopolisation springs to mind).

apple? (again deeply dubious practices esp in factories in China, and employee suicide rates are considered some of the highest in any multinational company).

any high street clothing retailer (who on the whole make use of sweatshops in the third world in order to produce cheaper clothes)

the list is, in fact, endless.

And in truth nestle is virtually impossible to boycott since their market extends well beyond that of "snacks" into other areas such as beauty, and unless you are prepared to maticulously go through every product they produce, and keep up to date on those they have a hand in, it just isn't plausible to do so.

Even the own brand products that are similar to those of nestle are generally manufactured by nestle, so people who say "oh I buy own brand," are generally still buying nestle, they just don't realize it.

Oh but then you can't have Kit Kats!

I thought I'd been boycotting Nestle for years. Turns out I didn't realise they make Haagen Daaz, which I have been buying. There is a list here if anyone is interested.

well that is a very simplistic view, and if you read beyond BMA and their personal vendetta, I think you'll find that on the whole, practices have been changed in the developing world, and that actually nestle no longer "kills babies."

But that aside, the choice to not purchase specific products based on the practices of a company is of course one of personal perogative. you don't wish to line Nestle's pockets and that is your choice. Nobody should judge you on that.

However, statements such as people compromising their principles because they can't give up their snacks are hugely inflamatory and are completely out of place. No-one, not one of us, lives entirely ethically. It simply isn't possible to do so. We all line the pockets of some multi-national company whose practices are questionable at best. But it is personal choice as to which ones we choose to do business with, and which ones we don't, based on our own feelings and thoughts.

Once I realised the list of products made by Nestle was so long I just couldn't do it. If you read AKissIsNotAContract's list you see the problem. Boycotting something with Nestle in the label is a mere drop in the ocean.

People boycott MAC for now changing their policies and testing on animals but not Nestle for killing hundreds of thousands of babies. It's odd.

I think it's possible to boycott Nestle - I've done it for 15 years. Yes, it's a pain especially on the chocolate bar front (not a fan of kit kats but used to love lion bars!) but definitely achieveable with a small amount of effort. It's really easy to check labels (eg to spot something like Buxton water). For me, it's a way of making a personal statement in how I spend my money.

Wannabe I agree that in the age of globalisation it's nigh on impossible to avoid dodgy corporate practices. I do avoid Coco-cola and choose fair trade where there's a choice. It's a drop in the ocean, but it's my way to trying to stay aware of what we're all doing to this planet!

Big fat hypocrite typing away on your phone / iPad / pc which is assembled in China by slave labour using minerals blood-mined in Africa by children. Hth.

Haven't they changed their practices?

ignorant

Tht means I am ignorant and that is a genuine q btw

of course it isn't. It is personal choice.

it's a bit like complaining that people give money to animal charities when there are babies dying in Africa. Or giving to African charities when there are people closer to home needing help.

And boycotting nestle isn't actually going to stop babies in the third world from dying, people do it for their own conscience reasons (which is fine), but it doesn't actually make a difference.

I agree Wannabe,I certainly won't be boycotting.

McDonalds cause untold damage to the health of young children yet nobody gives a shit,in fact MN advertise the company on here.

I'm not going to be bullied by headline twisting or shop with double standards(I'm currently typing on an Apple keyboard) and yes practices have changed and are constantly changing.

Sorry I'll be buying whatever Easter eggs I feel like thanks.

yes kayano practices have changed.

which is why the boycott is even less relevant now.

See they have changed their ways so why does the boycott continue? I don't get that.

Surely you are boycotting it until it changes, then you have got what you want

Like useless example when people boycotted 'choco crispies' until the rebranded them back to coco pops

because it's such a long-standing agenda by BMA that people have failed to research beyond that.

All people know is that nestle "go into the third world and kill babies," a statement which in itself is very much misrepresentative of what actually was the case. But although there were definitely some questionable practices on nestle's part this is no longer the case, but BMA have their personal vendetta and their band of followers who cannot see beyond that and expect the rest of us to conform to some outdated agenda.

People are obsessing over
Emotive dead baby topics
Today :(

I won't be boycotting then.

Given the huge amount of negative publicity regarding marketing formula milk in third world countries, I can't believe Nestle still pursue this practice.

I don't boycott them because I don't think it makes the slightest difference (and I do most of my supermarket shopping in Tesco)

Their practices have changed a bit. They are now just as bad as all the other formula companies that are sold in the developing world. There was a WHO report (10+ years ago) saying that Danone were just as bad as Nestle, but no-one seems bothered about boycotting them. So unless you are boycotting all formula companies then it isn't really worth much.

actually though opinion even on mn has changed hugely over the years.

When I first came to mn, and even up until about three/four years ago, anyone who dared admit they didn't boycott nestle was shot down in flames and might as well have admitted to killing the babies themselves.

But in the past couple of years people have become a lot more cynical about the boycott and about the agenda of BMA, and on the whole, a nestle debate is a lot more against the boycott than for it than it used to be, because generally people are seeing that A, boycotting on a personal level doesn't actually make a difference, and B, practices have changed and are continuing to change so the reasons are no longer valid in the same way they used to be.