I really don't understand why people would be upset with FairTrade about this. The fair trade movement was designed to raise awareness and do something about sketchy business practices that were hurting people. As a result, this excluded all the big corporations from the fair trade industry. NOT because they're big evil corporations, but because they weren't playing nice.

Now that they are playing nice, what? People are upset because they don't get to be anti-corporate just by supporting FairTrade? Come on.

FairTrade is about allowing people to make a living from the land, without having their crops carpet bombed by the CIA (among other things). It is NOT an anti-corporate soapbox.

Let's take the anti-corporate sentiments to somewhere they're relevant, and keep FreeTrade about helping people.

If you ask me, this is a huge victory for everyone involved, and a great story of a growing conscientious public making their voices heard in even the biggest corporations.

Bringing treehugger attitudes to the mainstream is what it´s all about. I say: Great to see a corporation of Nestlés reputation working together with a responsible organisation for better ways. But as always some people are never satisfied and just believe all business is out to do evil. Of course we should ask more of such a grand corporation, I´m allready anticipating a well distributed fair trade chocolate bar.

This is outrageous. Nestle, a giant corporation with no conscience, the corporation that is trying to profit by co-opting infant feeding in poor nations, gets to take the moral high ground on the cheap and water down one of the most moral business practices at the same time. This a a bad day for Fair Trade.

Assuming Fair Trade did not bend its standards, and that Nestle honestly attained them, why does this "water down" Fair Trade? What is Fair Trade to do, say: "Yes, we see you've met all of our criteria and have made the lives of growers better, but you still can't call yourself fair because we judge you to be otherwise evil"? That would be unfair in a very true sense of the term.

One of the most lasting and powerful outcomes of the 1960's counter culture was the introduction to US society of organic agricutlure and whole foods. I don't mean vegetarianism only, although that's part of it. Fair trade is a logical outgrowth of that influence. Once the fair trade/organic/locally produced meme virus significantly infested the markets formerly controlled by large corporate interests, they had no choice but to respond. Luckily for us, I believe, corporate reources will open the door wide enough for small scale local growers and distributors tto get a grip on their smaller markets, which multinationals (so far) have no means of controlling. Optimism will produce a reward.

I don't trust a corporate executive any further than I can kick him, but this is a positive sign of the times. Corporations don't respond to calls to be more responsible, but they will bow to consumer demand.

Nestle has a reputation for dishonest activity (just ask them where their bottled 'mountain spring' water comes from), but they will blindly follow the trail of money, even if it leads to more responsible action.

Want to see Nestle change? start buying their only fair trade product, and tell them you won't buy anything else of theirs.

Kudos, Warren for putting this into an intelligent context.

My feelings on this are as follows:

Nestle have recognised a market opportunity and acted on it.

Nothing in their corporate history shows any committment to CSR as far as I can tell.

I will not be buying their product and will stick to the proven ethical suppliers.

I am glad Nestle and FairTrade have done this as it will bring Fairtrade further into the mainstream and that is a good thing.

What Nestle have not realised is that as they help to convert the mainstream towards more ethical living those same customers will one day move away from Nestle when those same customers realise that Nestle are a single bottom line (profit) company as opposed to a triple bottom line (people, planet, profit) company.

Of course should Nestle move to embrace the triple bottom line wholeheartedly then they stand a chance of keeping those mainstream converts.

Namaste

CH

It's a start. I'll give them that. If this becomes a big seller for them, it will hopefully encourage better practices to become more widespread. I, for one, probably won't purchase any, based on some of the reasons outlined by other commentors. However, if it helps to bring Fair Trade more mainstream and encourages a corporation to be more responsible, then I'm exciall for it.

Great post title warren!

I've ranted on TH before about the need to keep adjusting your outlook as the world changes & new info comes to light. The critics have been fervently anti-corporation & achieved some great force that way, but now can't adjust to the fact that their actions have to helped to create more socially responsible corporations (& therefore the activists need to change their leverage point targets).

Similarly, the corporations may one day have to adjust to the fact they've created more socially aware consumers who are seeking genuinely sustainable businesses.

Above all political considerations, the immediate winner is the coffee farmer due to increased demand for fair trade coffee. (that coffee in the pic looks like effluent, btw)

I'm sorry but people have forgotten what fairtrade's supposed to be about. It is NOT just about giving people a fair wage - which in any case Nestle doesn't do for the vast majority of its coffee (talk about cynical - why doesn't it at least make all its coffee fair trade. If it's right then it's right). It's also about finding different ways to produce and trade products - to make a living. It's about saying, we live in a world where 70% of all agricultural products are controlled by 6 global corporations. We need to find ways by which people pushed to the margins by this can fight back. So fair trade is about giving money to co-operatives which are workplaces owned co-opertively so people have democratic control over their working lives and where profits can go back to community stuff like schools and hospitals NOT back to western shareholders who've already got too much money. This is a cynical ploy by Nestle to re-capture dominance of the whole coffee market and drive those other fairtrade co=operatives out of business through their marketing and coverage monopolies. And guess what - it's worth a few extra pennies if it achieves that. It isn't just that this is a betrayal of principle, it's short-sighted and counter-productive for the fairtrade movement. And you know what - Nestle knows that too.

Nestle is not just another corporation. It is one of the world's most boycotted, the most boycotted in the UK (the only country where this product is being sold), because of its aggressive marketing of baby foods, which contributes to the unnecessary death and suffering of infants around the world. It was voted as the world's 'least responsible company' in a global internet vote in January this year for this and because of its trade union busting in Colombia, where it is linked to paramilitaries who terrorise activists.

The mark has been awarded to just one of Nestle's 8,500 products, but it will now feature in Nestle's public relations campaigns as it attempts to divert criticism.

This does not appear to be a threat to the boycott campaign, at least judging from a quick survey we have conducted via our website. Nestle's bad image cannot be covered up by the Fairtrade mark on one product. Worryingly, however, many people say they will now look at the Fairtrade mark differently.

The Fairtrade Foundation is clear the mark never was an 'ethical' certification. Its criteria are product specific (not company) and narrow, relating only to treatment of that product's suppliers (not suppliers for other products, not other issues, not how the products are marketed). People who understand this appear to be less concerned about Nestle getting a mark. Others say the mark is devalued as they can no longer trust it alone for their ethical shopping decisions.

We are seeking people's views via our website and would also like to be alerted if and when Nestle uses its Fairtrade product in its PR.

Baby Milk Action