Nestle's Ethical Case Study

As reported by Ethical Consumer, Nestlé has been voted the least ethical company in the last twenty-five years (Ethical Consumer, 2017). Nestlé is the largest food company and largest producer of bottled water in the world. Additionally, they make approximately ninety billion dollars a year by selling products like instant coffee, breakfast cereals, cat food, dog food, and chocolate bars (Ethical Consumer, 2017). Nestlé has faced several scandals throughout the years that have negatively impacted their reputation. Many of their critics have claimed that the company is extremely unethical and only focused on generating a profit. “5 shocking scandals that prove it’s time to boycott Nestlé,” written by S.E. Smith, “Why Nestlé is one of the

The Nestlé Corporation has behaved unethically by manipulating breastfeeding mothers into using their formula, allowing slavery in the production of their goods, and exploiting the current drought in

They have been accused of exploiting the drought in California by continuing to produce bottled water while there have been water shortages throughout the state. Furthermore, they bottle water in the desert areas of the state where the most water shortages take place (Smith 3). When asked about the amount of water they have been using, Nestlé refused to reveal how much is processed at their factories. At the second World Water Forum in 2000, Nestlé suggested making access to water for drinking a need instead of a right (Andrei 4). This shows that Nestlé is primarily interested in making a profit because they would prefer to continue draining water than allow others to have access to drinking water. Additionally, Nestlé’s CEO stated that they are keeping their water facilities in California and he wished they would increase production. Unfortunately, the state of California does not know how much water Nestlé is using because they cannot legally force a company to share this information and Nestlé has not publicly stated such details (Andrei 4). Nestlé escapes any restrictions on water usage by pumping water from reservations. Furthermore, California is not able to account for the water taken from reservations because they are sovereign lands, the government has no control over them (Smith 3). It is highly unethical for Nestlé to continue using as much water