Buzz
As the world's biggest food company, Nestlé inevitably faces some mistakes, and occasional scandals are to be expected. Nevertheless, the company has been repeatedly accused of unethical practices, such as using child labor.
Below, we outline 10 of the most infamous controversies involving Nestlé, and we urge you to delve deeper. Public outrage has led Nestlé to alter its position on certain matters over time. Don’t ignore it—let’s keep pushing Nestlé toward improvement.
10. Baby Formula Boycott
While natural breastfeeding isn’t always an option for mothers, research shows it is preferable to formula feeding for a baby’s growth. Therefore, it would be highly unethical for a company to intentionally mislead or misguide consumers in a way that prevents them from breastfeeding.
Critics argue that Nestlé has done exactly this over decades, particularly during a campaign that gained significant attention. The most notable Nestlé boycott began in 1977 in response to what was seen as the company’s “aggressive marketing” of milk formulas in developing nations.
In these regions, milk formula samples were distributed to new mothers in hospitals, and it’s believed that financially incentivized healthcare providers encouraged their use. Once the sample ran out, many mothers found their lactation disrupted, forcing them to rely on the formula.
The formula's nutritional information and instructions were often unclear to the consumers. For example, in 1999, comedian and journalist Mark Thomas highlighted that Nestlé baby milk cans sold in Mozambique were labeled only in English. Portuguese is the official language, but English is seldom used except in tourism, while over 60 different dialects of Bantu languages are spoken by the majority of the population.
As a result, mothers were left in the dark about what they were feeding their babies and how much was appropriate. Instead, they had to depend on the inconsistent and often self-interested advice from doctors and nurses.
This situation also resulted in hygiene issues. Mothers in poorer regions not only struggled to understand how to properly sterilize bottles, but they also lacked the necessary equipment for cooking. Diarrhea became a common consequence. With limited access to medicine and proper nutrition, many babies tragically died.
Nestlé’s baby formula boycott continues, particularly due to its past advertising campaigns claiming that formula was superior to breastfeeding. While the company asserts that it has discontinued such marketing tactics, an internal report from 2019 uncovered 107 violations of its baby milk marketing policy. Another independent report from the same year revealed that Nestlé was still comparing its products to human milk.
9. The Right to Water for All
Remember the villain in Mad Max: Fury Road who hoarded all the water? Some believe there are strong parallels between him and the executives at Nestlé. They’ve been accused of mining water in ways that many consider highly unethical.
Once Nestlé extracts the water, it becomes their property. This takes on a more alarming significance when considering the growing global water shortage, especially when coupled with Nestlé’s push to have water categorized as a “need” instead of a “right.” Through this shift, Nestlé could gain even more control over this vital resource.
At the 2000 World Water Forum, then-Nestlé CEO Peter Brabeck-Letmathe was quoted saying, “Access to water should not be a public right.” Nestlé maintains that this comment was misinterpreted.
Brabeck-Letmathe later clarified, “I am the first to say water is a human right. This right covers the five liters (1.3 gals) needed for daily hydration and the 25 liters (6.6 gals) necessary for basic hygiene. [ . . ] My concern is that 98.5 percent of water usage, which goes toward other purposes, is not a human right, and by treating it as one, we are using it irresponsibly, despite it being our most precious resource.”
Nestlé’s extraction of water from various U.S. states has attracted significant scrutiny in recent years. The company is also involved in the Flint, Michigan water crisis, reportedly extracting 747 liters (almost 200 gallons) of fresh water every minute from the state’s reserves. Furthermore, Nestlé is the largest private owner of water sources in Michigan. The company has been under fire since 2003, when a judge ordered Nestlé to halt its operations due to environmental damage and a drastic drop in water levels. Just last year, Nestlé Waters CEO Tim Brown expressed that he would bottle more water from drought-stricken California if it were financially feasible.
While it’s undeniable that vast amounts of water are recklessly squandered, whether increased privatization is the solution remains debatable. Despite the common failure of governments and the public to prioritize environmental concerns, Nestlé hasn’t exactly set a shining example either.
Large corporations often prioritize maximizing profits over acting in the collective interest. It seems short-sighted to entrust our planet's “most precious resource” to entities largely driven by self-interest.
8. The Greenwashing Dilemma
Perception plays a critical role in any business. If your company is seen as unethical, it can tarnish your entire brand. That’s why it’s crucial to convince consumers that your company cares and practices environmental responsibility. However, it’s far cheaper to pollute and then attempt to cover it up, a practice known as greenwashing. Nestlé has been accused of this on a grand scale.
A notable instance occurred in October 2008 when Nestlé launched an advertising campaign in Canada, claiming, “Most water bottles avoid landfill sites and are recycled. [ . . . ] Bottled water is the most environmentally responsible consumer product in the world.” Environmental organizations disagreed, filing complaints with Advertising Standards. They argued that Nestlé couldn’t substantiate its recycling claims.
In the book Guerrilla Marketing to Heal the World, Beatrice Olivastri, CEO of Friends of the Earth, referenced Nestlé’s 2008 Corporate Citizenship Report, which revealed that a significant portion of the company’s bottles never got recycled and ultimately ended up in the solid waste stream.
7. Forced Labor in the Thai Fishing Industry
If you’ve ever owned a cat, you might have purchased Purina cat food at some point. By doing so, you may have inadvertently supported Nestlé’s use of forced labor in Thailand. Apologies for the downer.
Typically, the workers are immigrants from even poorer neighboring countries like Myanmar (Burma) and Cambodia. In exchange for a job in Thailand, they are charged illegal fees and forced into the fishing industry to repay their crippling debt.
A Burmese worker shared their experience, saying, “Sometimes, the net is too heavy, and workers get pulled into the water and just vanish. When someone dies, they are simply thrown into the water.”
In 2014, Nestlé conducted its own investigation into the practices within the Thai fishing industry. The findings were made public, exposing that nearly every other company sourcing seafood from Thailand—the world’s third-largest seafood exporter—was likely complicit in the abuse.
Nestlé vowed to take steps to improve working conditions and find more ethical methods of sourcing seafood. Human rights organizations responded positively to the commitment.
Nick Grono, CEO of the Freedom Fund, remarked, “If one of the world’s largest brands openly admits to finding slavery in their operations, it could be a game-changer and lead to significant and lasting change in how supply chains are managed.”
By the time Nestlé announced plans to improve labor conditions in Thailand, reports on the abusive working environment—whether involving Nestlé or other major brands—had been mounting. Earlier, the Associated Press had conducted an investigation that led to the rescue of 2,000 fishermen.
6. Deforestation in Ghana and Ivory Coast
Some critics argue that Nestlé’s chocolate production is riddled with unethical practices. In September 2017, environmental group Mighty Earth conducted an investigation, revealing that the cocoa industry in Ivory Coast and Ghana was a significant driver of deforestation in these countries.
According to Mighty Earth’s findings, major cocoa traders buy beans grown illegally in protected areas and then sell them to large chocolate companies such as Nestlé, Hershey, and Mars.
Rainforests now account for less than four percent of the Ivory Coast's total land area. The rise in poaching has exacerbated the situation, leading to severe consequences for local wildlife. The elephant population has dwindled to fewer than 400, while chimpanzees—our close relatives—have also faced massive population declines.
Mighty Earth reports that roughly 90 percent of some national parks have been converted into land for cocoa farming. Their research warns that if the demand for unsustainably sourced chocolate continues at its current pace, these forests could vanish by 2030.
In late 2017, The Guardian reached out to major chocolate producers like Nestlé and Mars for their stance on this issue. While these companies did not deny sourcing cocoa from areas where illegal deforestation occurs, they assured they were working to eliminate these beans from their products.
5. Ethiopian Debt
During the 1970s, Ethiopia's military government seized the assets of foreign corporations, including Nestlé. The company relentlessly pursued compensation for the losses, estimated at $6 million.
Nestlé's campaign for compensation persisted through Ethiopia’s devastating famine of 1984, which resulted in the deaths of over a million people. The efforts continued into late 2002, when another famine loomed in the country after a severe three-year drought.
The conflict gained widespread attention thanks to The Guardian, whose reporting led more than 40,000 people to send letters to Nestlé, urging the company to settle the issue with compassion. Nestlé had previously refused to ease the situation, citing that “the principle” was what mattered.
After facing significant public pressure, Nestlé eventually changed its stance and agreed to a settlement. They accepted a $1.5 million offer from the Ethiopian government, which Nestlé promised to reinvest back into the country.
4. Alleged Chocolate Price-Fixing
In 2012, the Competition Bureau in Canada seemed poised to file charges in a chocolate price-fixing scandal following a five-year investigation. The allegation was that Robert Leonidas, former CEO of Nestlé Canada, shared pricing strategies with competitors Hershey, Mars, and Cadbury, enabling the companies to unlawfully manipulate the market.
Court documents from the Competition Bureau claim that Leonidas met with other executives, presenting them with Nestlé’s pricing plans. In one meeting, Leonidas allegedly handed over an envelope containing the company's pricing strategy and remarked, “I want you to hear it from the top—I take my pricing seriously.”
In 2015, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada decided to drop the charges against Nestlé and Robert Leonidas. A Nestlé representative stated, “Nestlé Canada Inc. had vigorously defended against these charges. We pride ourselves on operating under the highest ethical business standards, and we are very pleased that this chapter is now behind us.”
However, in 2013, Nestlé agreed to pay C$9 million to resolve a separate Canadian civil class-action lawsuit concerning price-fixing in the chocolate industry. Although they settled, Nestlé denied any misconduct. This lawsuit was filed by private consumers in 2008, not by the Canadian government.
Chocolate production has affected Nestlé not only through deforestation in Africa and price-fixing in Canada but also through its connection to child labor. As The Washington Post reported, Nestlé promised to eliminate child labor two decades ago, but the issue persists. The global chocolate industry has missed deadlines to eradicate child labor from its cocoa supply chains in 2005, 2008, and 2010. With another deadline in 2021, industry leaders admit that they will likely miss it too. Therefore, it's highly probable that a chocolate bar purchased in the U.S. was made using child labor.
Around two-thirds of the world’s cocoa comes from West Africa, where a 2015 U.S. Labor Department report revealed that over 2 million children work in hazardous conditions in cocoa-producing areas. It’s not just chocolate. In 2020, a UK investigation uncovered that children as young as eight were picking coffee for Nespresso, owned by Nestlé, in Guatemala. These children worked long hours, six days a week, carrying heavy sacks weighing up to 45kg (100 pounds), earning just $8 a day.
3. Mislabeled Products
Mislabeling products is not only unethical (when done intentionally), but it can also be dangerous. In 2002, the Administrative Department of Security in Colombia ordered Nestlé to recall 200 tons of powdered milk. The milk, produced between August 2001 and February 2002, had been relabeled with false production dates of September 20, 2002, and October 6, 2002.
Nestlé's mislabeling issue has also affected the United States. In 2014, 10,000 packs of Haagen-Dazs distributed across the eastern U.S. were recalled due to a failure in the ingredient list, which did not notify consumers that the ice cream contained peanuts.
In 2017, a lawsuit was filed against Nestlé’s Poland Spring Water, aiming for class-action status. The lawsuit argued that the product, marketed as “100 percent natural spring water,” actually came from ordinary groundwater sources.
The plaintiffs claimed that if the eight sources Nestlé asserts as the origin of their Poland Spring Water were true springs, they would flow with enough force for the public to visibly witness them.
The lawsuit argues, “Such a spring would be plainly visible—more like a geyser than a spring—and would be widely known. [ . . . ] Yet no photographic evidence exists to confirm the existence of such a spring—let alone eight—near the defendant’s Maine sites.”
In response, a Nestlé spokesperson stated, “It meets the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations that define spring water. [ . . . ] We remain fully confident in our legal position.”
In 2018, Nestlé faced a class-action lawsuit over its non-GMO labeling. Filed in Los Angeles, the federal lawsuit claimed that Nestlé marketed products as “No GMO Ingredients,” while they contained genetically modified organisms. The company was also accused of using a packaging seal designed to deceive consumers into believing their products were certified by the Non-GMO Project, a leading non-profit in the field. Additionally, the suit alleged that Nestlé sold dairy from cows fed GMO grain, which violated the standards of the non-profit’s Product Verification Program. The lawsuit was settled in 2020, but the settlement details were not disclosed.
2. Milk Purchases From Mugabe
Robert Mugabe, the leader of Zimbabwe, was responsible for the seizure of almost all white-owned farms in the country. Among those was Foyle Farm, which was renamed Gushungo Dairy Estate. The farm's original owner was coerced into selling the land for a fraction of its value, ultimately receiving only 40 percent of the agreed-upon price.
Grace Mugabe, Robert’s wife, took over the management of the dairy farm. Under her leadership, it produced 6,500 liters (1,700 gallons) of milk daily—roughly 35 percent of what the farm had produced before. Such declines were not uncommon as Zimbabwe's economy experienced a sharp downturn, driven primarily by the government’s state-sponsored land reforms in agriculture.
Nestlé Zimbabwe continued sourcing milk from Grace Mugabe’s farm, a decision that faced sharp criticism from both the European Union and the United States. These governments imposed sanctions on the Mugabes to stop their land grabs and other controversial actions. However, since Nestlé is based in Switzerland, which is not a member of the EU, the company was not legally bound to follow the sanctions of either authority.
At first, Nestlé asserted that it was operating within the laws of both Switzerland and Zimbabwe, and thus intended to carry on with its business practices. Over time, however, the company shifted its stance and ceased purchasing milk from the Mugabes after growing negative media attention.
The company defended its prior stance, saying, “If Nestlé had decided to shut down its operations in Zimbabwe, it would have exacerbated food shortages and resulted in the loss of hundreds of jobs for employees and milk suppliers in an already precarious situation.”
1. The Chinese Milk Scandal
In 2008, Chinese milk-based products were thrust into the spotlight after it was revealed that a number of companies, including Nestlé, had included melamine in their products manufactured in China.
Melamine, which can be mistaken for protein, allowed Chinese dairy producers to falsely advertise higher protein levels by using this cheaper substance. This was especially harmful in infant formulas, where protein is crucial, leading to dangerous deficiencies.
The toxic contamination was first noticed when a worrying pattern of illness surfaced in Gansu Province. Over a short period, 16 babies in the region were diagnosed with kidney stones.
The babies involved had consumed an infant formula from the Sanlu Group. This incident, however, highlighted a larger issue that affected other companies, including Nestlé, and its products made in China.
In October 2008, Taiwan imposed a ban on the sale of Nestlé’s powdered milk and infant formula from China. Despite Nestlé’s reassurances that their products were safe, Taiwanese authorities found traces of melamine. In response, Nestlé sent 20 Swiss experts to their Chinese factories to improve methods for detecting melamine contamination.
