Clooney, Nespresso and the need for Fair Trade Coffee

The Swiss organization Solidar has set up a campaign to get Nestlé to switch its Nespresso Coffee to Fair Trade. A noble cause.
They do this by means of a public appeal to Mr. George Clooney: ‘[…] promoting a company that does nothing to stop the exploitation of coffee pickers is really not right. I would therefore like to ask you make Nestlé choose: either fair trade coffee or no more George Clooney in the Nespresso commercials.’

I watched the accompanying video yesterday and thought: that’s a pretty bold way to address someone. Wouldn’t Clooney respond more favorably if he had just received a direct request from Solidar? (Even if his contracts might prevent him from making any immediate changes?) But then I realized: if it hadn’t been so bold, no one would have shared the request or written about it.

A minute after I posted this blog and tweeted it, I received a reply from Nespresso on Twitter. They must really be concerned about the power of social media. This is their response.

P.S. I do sometimes drink Nespresso and I know little of Nestlé’s policies concerning Fair Trade. But thanks to Solidar, I will pay more attention to it in the future…