to ask how many of you boycott Nestle?

[Miren]

Just noticed the stamp on the MN homepage and wondered how many of you do it.

I have for about 5 years, and even DH and DC are careful with what they choose when shopping (not been persuaded by me, they've just picked it up I guess). DH even decided to return a coffee machine bought by his DF for Christmas because it would mean buying the pods from Nestle

Nope. I love coffee too much, and chocolate

The Nestle boycott has been going on for decades and is largely ineffectual, mainly because Nestle does very little trade direct with consumers. The impact to Nestle's main trades is pretty minimal, and its answer is usually in the form of rebranding.

If however consumers chose one of the larger supermarket chain or say Boots and boycotted that those retailers (and therefore all their goods not just Nestle), it would have a much faster impact as Tesco (or whoever was chosen) would be putting pressure on Nestle pretty quickly.

BMA obviously don't like that idea as all the other supermarkets stock Nestle too, but they are missing where the economic power is. Feel free to boycott Nestle as a matter of principle, but don't think that it will have an impact on how Nestle does business.

I do. They might not be the only unethical company, but their practices are pretty well-known and personally I cannot justify buying from them.

No.

Just googled their products and realised i still don't buy any. They are all horrible. I don't drink coffee or eat chocolate and all the rest seem like frozen/ready made things which we don't buy either, And i'm far too mean for buitoni pasta. I thought Crosse and Blackwell was Nestle, so the only thing i may buy, if i wasn't such a stingebag that i only buy own brands, is Branston Pickle.

Coffee - Nescafé including:
Alta Rica
Black Gold
Blend 37
Cap Colombie
Cappuccino
Caro
Decaff
Expresso
Fine Blend
Gold Blend
Kenjara
Nescafé Ice
Nespresso coffee and machines
Organic
Partners Blend

Dairy products
Carnation
Coffee-Mate
Extreme Viennois
Fussells
Ideal
LC1
Munch Bunch yoghurts
*Rachel's Dairy
Rowntree yoghurts and ice creams
Simply Double
Ski yogurts
Sveltesse yogurts
Tip-Top

Confectionery & snacks
Aero
After Eights
Animal Bar
Baci Chocolate
Black Magic
Blue Riband
Breakaway
Caramac
Chocolate Cuisine
*Colgate Dental Gum
Dairy Box
Dairy Crunch
Double Cream
Drifter
Fab
Fruit Pastilles
Heaven
Henri Nestlé Collection
Jellytots
Kit Kat
Kit Kat Chunky
Kit Kat - Fairtrade
Lion Bar
*Lyons Maid Ice Cream
Matchmakers
Maxibon
Milky Bar
Munchies
*Nestlé Ice Cream
Polo
Quality Street
Rolo
Rowntrees Fruit Gums
Smarties
Toffee Crisp
Toffo
Tooty Frooties
Walnut Whip
Willy Wonka
Yorkie

Mineral/bottled water
Aqua Panna
Aquarel
Buxton
Contrex
Perrier
Pow-wow
San Pellegrino
Santa Maria
Valvert
Vittel

Other drinks
Build-up
Milo
Nesquik
Nestea

Processed meals
Buitoni pasta & canned foods
Herta
Jenny Craig
Maggi
*Osem/Tivall
*Rowntrees Jellies

*Cereals
Cheerios & Honey Nut Cheerios
Cinnamon and Golden Grahams
Clusters
Cookie Crisp
Shreddies
Fibre 1
Fitnesse
Force Flakes
Fruitful
Golden Nuggets
Nesquik cereal
Shredded Wheat including: Bitesize, Fruitful, Honey Nut
Shreddies: Coco and frosted

Specialised
PowerBar

*Cosmetics
Biotherm
Body Shop
Cosmence
Garnier
Helena Rubenstein
Innéov
La Roche-Posay
Lancome
L'Oreal
Matrix
Maybelline
Metamorphosis
Plénitude
Redken

Pet Foods
Arthur's
Bakers
BETA
Bonio
Felix
Friskies
Go-Cat
Go-dog
Gourmet
One
Pro Plan
Purina
Spiller's
Vital Balance
Winalot

Can you imagine how much bigger they would be without the boycott?

I don't know the effect the boycott had on their bottom line. But if they have become one of the biggest companies in the world despite the boycott, then I think it can be said that consumers aren't exactly wielding much power over Nestle.

Rachels Dairy

I don't.

But how many store brands are actually Nestle manufactured? Have you even stopped to consider that?

I'm hungry now, after reading that list of confectionery. Just about all my favourites.

Love hearts, Cola bottles and Refreshers are all I'll have left if I boycott Nestle and they're probably also made by bastard companies.

I have been boycotting them since I was 7. However, I am now aware that I have unknowingly bought cosmetic-type things without realising they're a subsidiary company. It makes me cross, like Nestle are being intentionally sneaky to catch out people who boycott. I am probably irrational.

i didn't realise the cosmetics branch. I have just checked and LA BASE is Lancome, so i do use one product. But when that has run out i shant buy it again.

Didn't realise Body shop was Nestle - how does that work with their ethos then?

I don't boycott anyone. As unpopular a view as it is on mumsnet I put my own family's wants and needs above those of anyone else in the world and don't make excuses for that.

I don't deliberately boycott nestle, but from reading that list probably the only things I buy are carnation milk occasionally for baking, and water if the place I want to buy water from only sells one of those brands.

No

I avoid them as much as I can, but not to extreme levels - I accept a coffee from my parents nespresso machine but wouldn't buy one myself, for example. Same as I only buy organic chicken for home, but wouldn't refuse chicken of uncertain origin at someone else's house/a restaurant/a wedding. It's hard to genuinely live according to your ethics all the time in our society.

I did in the UK but I moved to the developing world and it is impossible, and I am not exaggerating, to avoid Nestle, unless you just ate fruit and veg. It is really depressing what a stronghold they have here.

I haven't bought anything made by Nestle for over 20 years. It is disheartening that the impact of the boycott is so negligible, but that doesn't mean i'd feel happy giving them my money.

Many people still don't know what the issues are with Nestle and many more do but don't care, or at least not enough to change their shopping habits. Very many people have a major disconnect to the reality of how the products they buy every week end up on the shelves, be that how livestock is reared and slaughtered, how much sugar or salt is added to our food, or how dubious the marketing strategies of some companies are.

Sure, they make some products that i used to like - i miss a minty aero, and it was a very happy day when they no longer owned Cross & Blackwell and i could buy Branston again. But in all honestly, it is hardly a major sacrifice. I don't buy anything from Coca Cola and have never been in a McDonalds either. There is always a choice.

Ok, according to that list I only actually buy San Pellegrino! And I think my hairdressers use L'oreal colours. So I am boycotting better than I thought I was!

I have done since I was at university, so about 18 years now. The extended family have finally learnt for to give Nestle at Christmas and Easter.

All Sainsbury's own brand stuff is Nestle, but does anyone know about the other supermarkets' own brands?

I do, but inadvertently failed for a while because I didn't realise Rachel's Dairy was on the shit list.

Thanks for that list Miren

I already don't buy or drink Nescafé. I'll try harder with some of the other products. I use Elnett hairspray and I think that's Nestle and San Pellegrino. Poo. The kids have shreddies but since we have about 10 varieties of cereal in the cupboard, I don't suppose they'll miss it if it goes. I occasionally buy buitoni pasta and tomato purée but they are easily replaceable with other brands.

Re supermarket own brands, there is some info here:

'Most supermarket chains refuse to reveal the sources of their own name products but both Tesco and the Co-op deserve credit for having come clean with us to allow consumers an informed choice. Nestlé makes Tesco’s Corn Flakes, Sultana Bran, Bran Flakes, Cocoa Puffs, Puffed Rice and Cocoa Flakes and the Co-op’s Peanut Butter, Rich
Chocolate Mousse and Easy Serve Ice Cream. Nestlé makes nothing for Budgen. But Sainsbury and Safeway refused to tell us and should not be rewarded for this: all their own-brand cereals, dairy products and ice cream should be treated with suspicion'.

No, I don't.