Kit-Kats use palm oil from Indonesian plantations - threatening orangutan habitats
Okay, so Nestlé has received tens of thousands of emails, not to mention hundreds (maybe even thousands) of phone calls about the palm oil in its products, but we're still not seeing much in the way of affirmative action. So how about putting a huge advert in a major international newspaper to remind the executives that we're still expecting to see some major announcements very soon?
Scott Douglas has created this engrossing presentation to highlight the key stages in our Nestlé campaign, and the impact it's had on Facebook, Twitter and the blogosphere. Thanks to the whizzy graphics it's not as deathly dull as it sounds, and very interesting are the figures on the reach of the campaign so far, or how many people have seen messages about it.
Press the play button to start and move to the next slide, and it might look more impressive on the Prezi site.
Posted by christian -
24 March 2010 at 12:30pm -
0 Comments
A week on from launching our Nestlé Palm Oil campaign, it's time to take it to the next level. Nestlé's response has been weak - they're trying to greenwash their way out of trouble. We need to put them on the spot.
Unfortunately, they've also been busy trying to prevent as much criticism as possible reaching their HQ. They've deleted Facebook pages, deleted people's comments, got our video pulled off Youtube for a couple of days, and finally blocked your emails to their CEO Paul Bulcke, telling him to sort it out.
So it's time to be a little more direct. We'd like you to call up the company's customer service line, and tell them that using unsustainable palm oil from areas of destroyed rainforest is simply unacceptable, that they need to cut all ties to the company Sinar Mas - including through intermediaries like Cargill - and that they need to do it now.
Posted by jamie -
22 March 2010 at 3:12pm -
0 Comments
When we plan campaigns, we often have a reasonable idea of how much interest they'll get. Some are designed to speak to a small, specific audience who are in the right place to get things done, while others are broader in appeal. Our Nestle campaign certainly fell into the second category but never once did I think we'd see the level of response witnessed over the last few days. As one of our campaigners said last week, we're beyond wildest dreams territory.
Posted by jamie -
18 March 2010 at 12:31pm -
4 Comments
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?
Posted by christian -
17 March 2010 at 5:31pm -
4 Comments
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.
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!
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.
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!
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