Protecting breastfeeding - Protecting babies fed on formula

International Nestlé-Free Week is a time for people who boycott Nestlé over the way it pushes baby milk to do more to promote the boycott - and for those who don't boycott to give it a go. 

Many thanks to everyone who supported the week in 2012. Campaigners in the Philippines have also sent a message of thanks - click here.

Click here to see the event page on Facebook.

Nestlé. Good food, Good life? Good Grief!

Click on 'click here' to play again

Nestlé's Chairman again rejected Baby Milk Action's four-point plan for saving infant lives and ultimately ending the boycott when we raised this at the Nestlé shareholder meeting on 19 April 2012. As well as continuing to violate the baby milk marketing requirements, Nestlé is currently pushing for a new law in the Philippines to replace the regulations introduced to protect babies, mothers and their families. 

Spread the word in the build up to International Nestlé-Free Week 29 October - 4 November 2012. Share links to our pages. Post messages to discussion groups. Write to the media. There is a short explanation of the boycott below.

Above image: Nestlé promotes its formula around the world with the claim that it "protects" babies, when it knows babies fed on formula are more likely to become sick than breastfed babies and, in conditions of poverty, more likely to die. Nestlé refuses to stop this practice. More pressure is needed. Thanks to the boycott Nestlé dropped its claim that its formula is "The new 'Gold Standard' in infant nutrition". The campaign also aims to protect babies who have to be fed on formula - at the moment Nestlé refuses to give important information on steps to take to reduce the risks. See the email Nestle page for a suggested message and more examples of Nestlé's practices that break internationally agreed marketing standards.

There are also tools to encourage people to join the boycott, at least for a week. Halloween, marked in some countries, comes within the week. 

Also share the petition of solidarity with the people of the Philippines on the Avaaz site. See our Philippines campaign page: http://info.babymilkaction.org/philippines2012

Click here if you are not on our campaign email alert list (this is different to our Virtual Shop list). You can unsubscribe at any time.

The main target of the boycott is Nescafé coffee. If you only boycott Nescafé, try giving all Nestlé products a miss for this week. If you don't boycott because you don't want to miss out on a Nestlé brand, try it for this week. In some countries 31 October is marked as Halloween when sweets/candies are given to children - this provides a great opportunity to explain why you won't be buying Nestlé confectionery.

Nestlé-Free Candy Wrappers and other resources for Halloween and the week

Campaigners in the United States launched Nestlé-Free Candy Wrappers for the 2010 week. To download the file to print on labels to put on non-Nestlé confectionery - click here. 

Download and print this Nestlé-Free Zone poster to display in your window - click here for the pdf file.

You can also use hand out our credit-card sized cards which lists the main brands and explains the basics of the campaign. Click here.

Our leaflet explaining why to boycott Nestlé Fairtrade KitKat contains a useful summary of the baby milk and child slavery/labour issues - click here.

Use our iPhone app to detect Nestlé products

Our fun MyMeter app is a great way to raise the boycott. Find out the secret of how it works and download by clicking here.

You can find the main UK Nestlé brands on our new isite, by accessing this link with your smart phone:

http://www.babymilkaction.org/isite/

Campaigners in other countries have put up lists more specifically for their countries, such as Canada, New Zealand and the United States (Boo Nestlé and Kelly Naturally).

Be Nestlé-Free and spread the word

Click here to invite your friends to the event on Facebook.

You will find sources of information, Nestlé-Free logos for blogs and lots more in our year-round Nestlé-Free Zone. - because the boycott is not just for one week, it's until Nestlé accepts and delivers on our four-point plan for saving infant lives.

The reason for having a special week is to make it easier for you to tell people why you are boycotting:

Nestlé is the worst of the baby food companies, pushing baby milk around the world using strategies that are prohibited by international marketing standards. It also refuses to warn of risks from formula and how to reduce them. Nestlé knows that babies fed on formula are more likely to become sick than breastfed babies and, in conditions of poverty, more likely to die. It puts its own profits before health. The boycott gives it a financial reason to think again and helps force changes. Please join the Nestlé boycott - even if only for this week.

According to UNICEF: "Improved breastfeeding practices and reduction of artificial feeding could save an estimated 1.5 million children a year."

Tell Nestlé you are boycotting - it makes a difference

Don't forget to tell Nestlé you are boycotting - click here for our 'Email Nestlé' page. If you have already emailed Nestlé, please do so again as we are highlighting violations that have just been reported to us at the moment.

Emailing Nestlé works - it discontinued a leaflet claiming its formula is "The new 'Gold Standard' in infant Nutrition" that was featured in our campaign after thousands of people emailed it.

On the other hand, Nestlé has said it will stop only 4 of the 130 violations it counted in its profile in the latest global monitoring report from the International Baby Food Action Network. We need to keep up the pressure to persuade it to stop the other 97%.

Nestlé also refuses to warn that powdered formula is not sterile and the simple steps to reduce the risks of possible contamination with harmful bacteria, such as Enterobacter Sakazakii and Salmonella. Instead, it promotes its formula with health and nutrition claims, such as colourful logos saying its formula 'protects'.

Nestlé, Good Grief!

Nestlé's slogan is 'Good Food, Good Life'. Boycotters say 'Nestlé, Good Grief!' (you can add the Nestlé, Good Grief! widget that appears at the top of this page to your boycott pages and download the jingle as a ringtone or text alert for the week and beyond).