Well, we know that Nestle doesn't seem to like criticism. The debacle on their Facebook page makes that pretty obvious.

But it looks like they're actively blocking reasonable, informed criticism of their unsustainable business practices.

Since Wednesday, we've been asking our supporters to email Paul Bulcke, the CEO of the company, politely asking him to clean up Nestle's business practices and stop using unsustainable palm oil that's contributing to the destruction of Indonesia's rainforests.

But from what we can tell, Nestle have been blocking the IP address of our mail delivery software since Werdnesday afternoon. Rather than engage with people's concerns, they decided to try and censor them. Just like they did with comments on their facebook page - just like they tried to do with our Kitkat subvert.

Where to begin?

There's been so much going here over the last 18 hours that I've only now found the time to write an update. Since the last post here, the Kit Kat video which was pulled from Youtube (following a complaint from Nestlé about copyright infringement) was resurrected on Vimeo and has been racking up views like there's no tomorrow - 78,500 as of this moment. Not the shrewdest move Nestlé could have made, and I liked how Canada's Globe & Mail referred to it as "a global game of whack-a-mole".

Didn't Obi-Wan Kenobi say something about being struck down and coming back more powerful than before?

Oops! Pulled from youtube after a 'copyright' complaint from Nestle.

Update: Want to put your own copy of our video on your favourite video sharing site? Download the file now and be our guest! The more copies out there, the more interesting it will be for Nestle.

Dear Nestle's PR department,

Hey! How are you doing? I know that when we highlight the damaging effect your business is having on the Indonesian rainforests, it must be a bit annoying. I hope you understand that we're only trying to get your attention because using unsustainable palm oil in your products is such a very bad thing. You see, we just can't afford to let the Indonesian rainforests go up in smoke to provide land for palm oil plantations.

When you told us that you cared about the problem just as much as us, sure, we had a few reservations.

For one thing, although you said that you'd no longer buy direct from Sinar Mas - the suppliers of unsustainable palm oil from deforested areas of Indonesian rainforest - you made no such promises about buying from people like Cargill who buy palm oil from the same company. Really, if you're buying the same stuff, but via an intermediary, and you're not able to rule out supplies from APP, that’s not enough progress is it?

I started to wonder if you really cared about this issue in the way that you claim to.

But I guess what made me really wonder about whether you really cared was when you had our video pulled off youtube, citing ‘copyright infringement'. Now, I'm not a lawyer, but I reckon that maybe the terms ‘fair use' and ‘parody' might be relevant here.

Hmm, actually now that I think about it for a moment, I don't think you really care about copyright at all. I think you just wanted to stop people seeing the video! That's pretty lame. Seriously, censorship is just so... last century.

I might also point out that we've already been flooded with offers to host the video elsewhere, and that your move has generated even more interest in the issue on the blogosphere and on twitter.

To me, trying to censor our criticism doesn't seem like such a smart PR move. But then, what do I know!

Anyway, hope you're all well!

All the best,

Christian
GPUK Web Team

Watch the ad here: (We stuck it on Vimeo)

You have to hand it to Nestle - they're quick off the mark when it comes to launching a PR offensive, and with orang-utans hanging around (and sometimes off) their premises around the UK and Europe, they've released a statement saying they're dropping contracts with one of the worst palm oil suppliers, Sinar Mas. However, there's a lot they're not talking about and would probably prefer not to talk about.

Where, for instance, is their commitment to cutting out Sinar Mas completely from their supply chain? They may now be cancelling direct contracts with forest trasher Sinar Mas, but SM palm oil will still end up in Nestle factories. Nestle also buys palm oil from third party suppliers like Cargill, and Sinar Mas palm oil still flows through their pipes. Until Nestle can guarantee that none of its other suppliers are buying from Sinar Mas, we're still on.

And there's no mention of their dealings with Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), one Sinar Mas' many subsidiaries. Their pulp and paper for instance, which is used in things like packaging, is also grown in areas of destroyed rainforest, and Nestle have been less than forthcoming about their relationship with APP. Categorical denials of any dealings with APP have suddenly today been replaced with a commitment to an investigation of their supply chain.

So, full marks for being quick off the PR block, but very few points for effort. In the meantime, enjoy our own Kit Kat advert and write to Nestle's CEO to demand a better response. And follow the fun we're having on Twitter.

Update: A few of the eagle-eyed among you spotted an error in the above. I’d said there was no mention of the Sinar Mas subsidiary APP in Nestlé's new statement yesterday, but there was - a claim that they are not buying from this company. However, at the same time as sending us this statement, Nestlé told us in private that they are "investigating" links to APP through their supply chain.

So it was right that company has been less than forthcoming about their relations with APP, but amid the excitement of yesterday, I missed the claim on this issue in Nestlé's statement - sorry for that!

Spiny dogfish - renamed rock salmon for the fish and chip trade. Image © Creative Commons

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