Nestlé is under siege on social networks from environmental activists, led by Greenpeace, who are protesting its use of palm oil in products like candy bars, which they claim contributes to the
destruction of Indonesia's rain forest. The attack is part of a new wave of digitally savvy protests, Emily Steel reports.
Although Nestlé says the Indonesian company
in question supplied less than 2% of the palm oil it used last year and it has already decided to cut ties with it, Greenpeace maintains that Nestlé hasn't done enough and is also getting
the firm's palm oil in batches blended by third-parties. The difficulty with social media, Nestlé spokeswoman Nina Backes tells Steel, is "to show that we are listening, which we
obviously are, while not getting involved in a shouting match."
Brandchannel, meanwhile, is asking readers to take a survey about, and comment upon, what social
media branding strategies will look like in the near future. Will consumers own the brand? Or rebel? You decide.
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