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Coca Cola

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Started by hoochalobster (Sarah) Super Moderator in Chit-Chat on Tue, 11 December 2007 at 15:42

You’re viewing replies 31–60 of 213 by 22 people

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#31

mrs h wrote:

If you can’t afford it then you can’t afford it, but that’s very different to saying “I couldn’t care less”.

And the prices of fair trade products are coming down, because more and more people are buying them.

And the Santa thing is just silly - Christmas cards don’t fund any violence, and charity cards do a lot of good as long as they’re made from recycled paper :p

And I don’t buy Pepsi either, but to be fair I should say that I don’t buy any fizzy drinks anyway! I’d way rather pay an extra 50p for a fair trade product then spend silly money on a litre of wet sugar. However, As far as I am aware, no Pepsi workers have been tortured or murdered at work to date :)

Posted on Wed, 12 December 2007 at 12:29

#32

Cuchulain wrote:

@ mrs h : part ignorance on my part.
If Coca Cola are capable of stopping it , as you say , but ignore to do so then that is just sickening and they should appear in court for accessory to or allowing murder on their premises.

Posted on Wed, 12 December 2007 at 12:31

#33

mrs h wrote:

They have been taken to court, but because they were based outside the US, the courts removed Coco Cola as the defendent and only addressed the actual bottling plants where the workers were tortured and murdered.

Educational stuff here if you’re interested: http://www.waronwant.org/downloads/cocacola.pdf

I’m exhausted with all this serious stuff now, I’m off to Gracious Me to be silly for a bit :)

Posted on Wed, 12 December 2007 at 12:43

#34

Dennis wrote:

I am taking a lot of this on board, very interesting - and alarming - stuff.

With regard to the examples you gave mrs h, I would want to understand the context of those events more before I felt I had the full story. My picture of Colombia, and I am very uneducated in that respect so I will not pretend otherwise, is of a somewhat volatile country, where business interests are protected more often with a gun than with a writ.
I am NOT saying “well that makes it OK then” or, even worse, “fuck the foreigners, so long as it’s not on my doorstep”, but I just wonder how much of it is directly to do with malpractice on the part of Coca-cola and how much of it is symptomatic of other problems within the whole infrastructure of that country and thus how much of it would be true of any company operating there..
THAT said Coca Cola DO have a responsibilty to ensure wherever business is conducted under their name that it is done so in a proper manner.

Please don’t take my ambivalence to be “I don’t care”. Of course i care, it’s just human nature to not fully appreciate the impact of something unless it is right on your doorstep blowing up in your face. This is, of course, a Bad Thing.

*gutted that he may be giving up his beloved Relentless (made, as it is, by Coca Cola)*

PLEASE tell me Cadbury are ethical…?!

Posted on Wed, 12 December 2007 at 12:44

#35

mrs h wrote:

Cadbury are ethical.

*goes away to find out if that’s true, and making a mental promise not to tell Dennis until after Christmas :) *

Posted on Wed, 12 December 2007 at 12:48

#36

Macker wrote:

Not many companies are ethical so we should all go back to living in caves in the hills and grow our own food and make our own clothes! and become vegetarians too…the poor animals!

Posted on Wed, 12 December 2007 at 12:59

#37

Dennis wrote:

*stocks up on Cadbury Creme Eggs just in case*

*realises he now has the largest man-made structure in the West Midlands*

Posted on Wed, 12 December 2007 at 13:01

#38

mrs h wrote:

You used to live in a cave? I’m sorry to hear that :p

Posted on Wed, 12 December 2007 at 13:02

#39

mrs h wrote:

That was at Macker, obviously.

@ Dennis - and probably the shortest lived ;)

Posted on Wed, 12 December 2007 at 13:03

#40

Dennis wrote:

LOL

I currently have the largest deposit of waste tin foil anywhere in the world.

Even including the burial grounds where C3PO’s ancestors are laid to rest.

Posted on Wed, 12 December 2007 at 13:06

#41

deadsetgav wrote:

Dennis wrote:

PLEASE tell me Cadbury are ethical…?!

They treat the OmpaLoompa’s quite badly

Posted on Wed, 12 December 2007 at 13:50 in reply to an earlier post

#42

Macker wrote:

They give gorillas jobs too!!! Fantastic drummers are gorillas!

Posted on Wed, 12 December 2007 at 14:09

#43

Macker wrote:

Holidays are coming holidays are coming always coca cola la la la la la la la la tis the season its always the real thing!
Its goin around in my head all day

Posted on Wed, 12 December 2007 at 14:26

#44

opal_mantra (Holly) wrote:

mrs h wrote:

And the Santa thing is just silly - Christmas cards don’t fund any violence, and charity cards do a lot of good as long as they’re made from recycled paper :p

but the santa that everyone knows is a PRODUCT brought to you by the coca cola company..
and i’ve yet to send any christmas cards out.. they’re:
A - A waste of money
and
B - They go straight in the bin the day after christmas

(as you can tell… i’m not a fan of christmas either.. There’ll be no trees and cards in my house dammit!!)

Posted on Wed, 12 December 2007 at 14:57 in reply to an earlier post

#45

Macker wrote:

GRINCH!

Posted on Wed, 12 December 2007 at 15:03

#46

Dermot (The Derm) wrote:

Macker wrote:

Holidays are coming holidays are coming always coca cola la la la la la la la la tis the season its always the real thing!
Its goin around in my head all day

Ha! :-D

Posted on Wed, 12 December 2007 at 15:13 in reply to an earlier post

#47

opal_mantra (Holly) wrote:

Macker wrote:

GRINCH!

damn right!!
i don’t do christmas at all..
i’ll be working christmas day as per usual!!
then it’ll be home, possibly chinese takeaway from asda which will conveniently be in my fridge, bath, bed..
happy days!!
:D

Posted on Wed, 12 December 2007 at 15:44 in reply to an earlier post

#48

Gimme Back My Brainsaw wrote:

To be fair though, each country has its own bottling divisons of coke, and its aweful some of the stuff that has happened in africa but its a whole different product to british coke which is bottled in uxbridge all it shares is name, its a bit like a franchise, lets pick say um ‘mcdonalds’ now say in a branch of mcdonalds in paris the manager assainated some workers you’d still eat mcdonalds in london if you were a fan of it (shouldnt of used such an unethnical company as an example but its a scenario replace mcdonalds with whatever fast food company you want, its not about mcdonalds in the slightest just an example) the only coke I wont drink is the foreign coke they sell in kebab houses and chippys etc due to what could of gone on in the country it was produced (I dont mean that racistly, i just mean they dont have programs like the minimum wage and workers have less rights and employees have less government enforced standards to adher to).

Posted on Wed, 12 December 2007 at 17:06

#49

mrs h wrote:

opal_mantra wrote:

There’ll be no trees and cards in my house dammit!!)

I couldn’t agree more about the cards and trees - I won’t have a tree in the house any more. I did when the kids were little, but it’s just a load of irritating mess so I don’t bother these days. And I don’t like any Christmas decorations, and I only send cards to special people. And I put cards up, but I only keep them after Christmas if they are home made - the rest go in the recycling bin.

I can’t go as far as a chinese though - I LOVE Christmas dinner! :D

Posted on Wed, 12 December 2007 at 18:14 in reply to an earlier post

Last edited by Teethgrinder on Wed, 12 December 2007 at 18:23 (Corrected use of quotes)

#50

mrs h wrote:

@ Grant - I think you are missing the point a bit, the bottling plants are not franchises, or even “a bit like franchises”, they are all owned outright by the Coca Cola company. The people that work in them are therefore employees of Coca Cola. And Coca Cola are responsible for the health, safety and welfare of all their employees regardless of where in the world they are based.

As for your final point I salute your ideals, and I completely agree with them - but the reasons you give are the same reasons that so many people are boycotting Coca Cola! The employees that have been tortured, assassinated or received death threats in Columbia and Turkey and wherever are in that position because they have been fighting for their basic rights, and the killers are working on behalf of the Coca Cola company. Coca Cola should be treating their employees properly in the first place, not having them tortured if they try to protest at their working conditions!

Posted on Wed, 12 December 2007 at 18:36

#51

Taunty Dan wrote:

Hooch/Mrs h: You’re both being a bit “Listen to me i’m right you’re wrong” here. I’m not gonna sit here and defend coca cola because apart from the “facts” you’ve told me i know nothing about it. Besides which, i can’t remember which womble said it, but people ARE being murdered all the time, so applying a brand name to it doesn’t make the case any more of a worthy cause to fight than the countless other crimes against humanity that occur the world over. My honest view, and i’m allowed one, is that MY life and the lives of those nearest and dearest to me are important, and life is too short to worry about everything thats wrong with this planet. I gotta be honest here but to me you’re jumping on the whole “anti multi corporation bandwagon”. I suppose you champion the overworked underpaid staff at the meat packing districts of the US that supply McDonalds and the like too? Fine if you do, but you can’t really shake your head in disappointment at me just because i have a different outlook.

I’m a little disappointed that YOU’RE disappointed to be honest…

Posted on Wed, 12 December 2007 at 20:05

#52

Taunty Dan wrote:

…in fact having now gone back and read the thread properly i’m a little annoyed by you both.

Posted on Wed, 12 December 2007 at 20:34

#53

hoochalobster (Sarah) Super Moderator wrote:

I’ve just re-read all of my posts in this thread and I can’t find a single point where I’ve said “you should” do anything. I’ve explained why I do certain things, and said that I don’t understand people who don’t care/ aren’t bothered about the value of human life and our planet. I’m not being preachy, I just really, truly, cannot get it in to my head how people can think it’s unimportant.

You said that you care about your immediate family - everyone is someone’s child and I can’t imagine sending my daughter to work in the piss-poor conditions that some kids have to deal with just so the family can eat. I don’t see why anyone should have to be in that situation and I won’t help to maintain it.

Regarding life being too short to worry about it, I do worry. I want Daisy, her generation and those that follow, to have a decent place to live that hasn’t been completely ruined by people who “couldn’t care less”.

So no, you don’t have to do anything, you can have a very nice life doing whatever you please and I will respect your choices but I still can’t say that I understand them.

Posted on Thu, 13 December 2007 at 10:15

#54

mrs h wrote:

@ Dan, I don’t think I have told anyone what to do at all, I’ve just been saying what I think, which is what you were doing.

I was surprised by your general outlook, but my ‘disappointment’ was at what you said, i.e “Fuck human rights abuses” and “I couldn’t care less”. If that’s what you think then fair enough, but don’t expect me not to be upset by that.

Posted on Thu, 13 December 2007 at 10:46

#55

Macker wrote:

Just a couple of examples of unethical companies

NESTLE have been repeatedly criticised and widely boycotted in a number of countries because of their violation of international codes on the marketing of baby milk products

MCDONALDS were found to “exploit children”, be “culpably responsible for animal cruelty”, and have “advertisements, promotions and booklets which have pretended to a positive nutritional benefit which their food did not match”. Its record of labour, working conditions, unionism and pay was criticised.
PROCTER AND GAMBLE During the boycott of South Africa in the apartheid years, maintained their licensing agreement . Procter & Gamble today operate in the following repressive regimes; Brazil, China, Colombia, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Lebanon, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, the Philippines and Turkey.They have been frequently accused of uneccesary testing on animals
Unilever They have been criticised for repressive treatment of workers, and much of Unilever’s profits come from unfairly traded commodities ( tea, coffee and vegetable oils).

Glaxo Smithkline one of the world´s leading pharmaceutical companies, - sued the South African Government for trying to supply AIDS victims with medicine they can afford
- knowingly produces toxic drugs and
- emitts more carcinogens than almost any other chemical producer in the UK

BACARDI backed illegal and violent attempts to undermine the Cuban Revolution, including funding the Cuban-American National Foundation (CANF), an anti-Castro right-wing exile organisation based in Miami, which has been responsible for systematic acts of terrorism against Cuba.

Then there’s Nike adidas esso BP Shell etc etc etc the list is endless, so are u gonna boycott these companies too! Coca Cola are the tip of the unethical iceberg!
so u guys feel great about not drinkin coke, bet u use some of these companies products!

Posted on Thu, 13 December 2007 at 10:54

#56

Paddy wrote:

Ooh this is like the Ricky Hatton fight all over again.

I havent got to stay up till 4am to watch all the action again tho have i??

Posted on Thu, 13 December 2007 at 10:58

#57

Macker wrote:

No coz i just knocked them all out in the second round! OH YEH!!!

Posted on Thu, 13 December 2007 at 11:01

#58

hoochalobster (Sarah) Super Moderator wrote:

Macker wrote:

so u guys feel great about not drinkin coke, bet u use some of these companies products!

I drink Somerfield own brand fair-trade coffee, not Nestle (and no, I won’t eat their cereals/ sweets etc either). I’m a vegetarian and can say I have never eaten at McDonald’s in my life. I think Proctor and Gamble/ Unilever make washing powder and the like. I use Ecover for the washing up, laundry etc as it’s more environmentally sound. For bathroom products I use Co-Op brand stuff as it’s BUAV approved and I think the Co-Op are a decent company. I don’t know of anything I use that is made by Glaxo Smithkline but I will look into what’ve you’ve said about them. I don’t drink rum, I already mentioned I don’t wear Nike and since I don’t have a car I have no need to buy from Esso, BP, Shell etc.

Yes, I feel good about not supporting Coca Cola and to the best of my knowledge I’m not using any of the products you’ve listed. I’m not saying I get it right all the time or I’ve never used an unsound product in my life - I’m just saying that when I am aware or made aware of a company’s practice that I don’t support then I will choose to buy elsewhere.

Posted on Thu, 13 December 2007 at 11:14

#59

mrs h wrote:

You’re going down the ethics route again, and you have a perfectly valid point - but this isn’t about ethical versus unethical companies, it’s about Coca Cola supporting the torture and murder of their own employees! Never mind unethical and never mind that it’s sick - it’s also a question of law, and someone should be doing a life sentence for it. I don’t feel great about not drinking coke, I just don’t want any of my money to support them.

In the light of your post though I won’t be buying Bacardi again. :)

Posted on Thu, 13 December 2007 at 11:16

#60

Macker wrote:

A lot of own brand products are made by the big brands, for example heinz make a lot of home brand foods for companies like tesco etc! so u cant get away from it really, u could drive yourself insane!
Talking bout driving, if ya dont have a car thats great but ya get lifts places of people who do have cars or get the bus etc so your still cant avoid the fact u use these products in your day to day life!
As i said before, where there’s big money to be made there’l be unethical practices, thats just the way it is!

Posted on Thu, 13 December 2007 at 11:27

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