Nestlé

Nestlé is viewed as one of the biggest food companies in the world because it is a worldwide manufacturer worth about $97 billion. It is headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, and has factories in more than 80 countries. It is well known for infant’s products but it also manufactures other products such as ice cream, chocolate products, frozen foods, yogurts. 

The company was established in 1866 by Henri Nestlé, a pharmacist who created a new product called “farine lactee”, this was an alternative to breastfeeding to improve child mortality. By 1874 Nestle was selling its products in Austria, Belgium, Italy, Russia, Spain, Sweden, and others. When Nestlé and Anglo-Swiss Milk company merged in 1905, a new brand called Nestlé Group was created. 

Kitkat, Gerber, and pet food brands Purina, are examples of billion-dollar brands that we know Nestlé owns. Nestlé owns over 2000 brands in over 150 countries. Worldwide it has 308,000 employers. They are considered to be one of the best employers in Europe with their certificates and sustainability projects. According to Nestlé, they are planning to become the leading Food, Nutrition, Health, and Wellness company in a few years. 

How ethical is Nestlé? 

Although Nestlé is helping to stimulate the economy in many countries, still, there are many ethical issues with it. Now let’s have a look at several reasons why Nestlé has a bad reputation. 

Irresponsible marketing

Nestlé was the most boycotted brand by Baby Milk Action, a non-profit organization, due to irresponsible marketing of breast milk substitutes. Nestlé pushed the breastfeeding formula to LEDCs (Less Economically Developed Country), stating that their formula was just as good as mother’s milk in the 1990s. However, it was very unethical for several reasons. This is because in order to consume the formula mothers needed to boil the water. Since Nestlé targeted LEDCs, some countries lacked access to clean water. Moreover, due to low literacy rates, mothers were not aware of the fact that dirty water mixed with formula would put their babies in danger. In addition to that mothers tended to utilize less formula than required to make the container last longer. As a result, many newborn babies were malnourished and some even resulted in tragedies. Yet, Nestlé didn’t inform the mothers and continued to advertise it as a “splendid triumph of care and science”. And it is still uncertain how many lives were lost. 

Today, Nestlé is still being boycotted, although they have stated that they are following all of the WHO regulations. 

Water - A Universal Right or Not?

Nestlé’s keenness on its water business - which involves many of their other products as well - has led them to believe that water isn’t a universal right (in the words of their Chairman Peter Brabeck-Letmathe).  Unknown to most people, Nestlé is the world’s largest producer of bottled water. The brand is frequently criticized for the ethics of its global control of limited water sources. The criticism is centered around its limiting of local peoples' access to water resources as well as environmental concerns. Though the company claims sustainability, close work with communities, and aims of controlling environmental impact, controversies say quite the opposite. Due to the brand’s unsustainable use of the Bhati Dalwan’s aquifer water, the small village is facing a water crisis. Nestlé is also accused of “stealing America’s water”. In 2003, a Michigan court declared that Nestlé was solely responsible for draining the Dead River watershed, from which it pulled 400 gallons per minute, or 210 million gallons annually. The nine-year legal battle ended in 2009 when Nestlé agreed to drastically reduce the amount of water it takes and monitor water levels in real-time. 

“The Dark Side of Chocolate”

Nestlé has been associated with one too many controversies regarding Child Labour and Trafficking. Multiple cases have been filed against the brand on behalf of children. The cases revealed that the brand was not carrying out its regular checks concerning child labor and abuse. While the case filed in 2005 by the International Labour Rights Fund against the branch did not have any legal implications the brand is not left scot-free of its moral liabilities. Nestlé’s Vice President of Operations, Jose Lopez, commented on the allegations, stating that “The use of child labor in our cocoa supply chain goes against everything we stand for; No company sourcing cocoa from the Ivory Coast can guarantee that it doesn’t happen, but we can say that tackling child labor is a top priority for our company.” This comment is widely interpreted as an excuse that says “everybody does it”. Although the brand is presumably actively pursuing the tackling of the case, conditions do not seem to have improved. 

Is Nestlé making reforms?

After years of controversy, Nestlé is seen to be making some efforts to improve practices that have caused outrage. The cocoa used in its UK chocolate is “Rainforest Alliance” certified. The brand is also the first chocolate company to introduce a Child Labour Monitoring and Remediation System (CLMRS) to tackle child labor, an effort which has been widely praised. After major protests in 2020, Nestlé announced that it was leaving the Canadian bottled water market. However, it is selling its facilities and wells to another major water-taking company, Ice River Springs. This action may take the spotlight off of Nestlé but does not entirely solve the problem of pollution and water depletion. Nestlé’s website states “To align our goals to the 1.5°C pathway, we are transforming our operations. This will lead to a major shift in the way our ingredients are produced and sourced.”

The brand is also working towards sustainability by taking initiatives to develop sustainable packaging, reducing greenhouse emissions, and performing research and development to further enhance their knowledge and work towards set goals.

Written by Aidana Assylbek, Zoyah Virani; edited by Alidar Kuatbekov