Greenpeace UK and Nestle's use of palm oil

Hi there,

Wow. There are several other words I could use to express my amazement at the response to our campaign about Nestlé's use of palm oil, but none of them are fit to write here, so "wow" will have to do for now.

Since Wednesday morning - when we launched our controversial Kit Kat advert and demanded that Nestlé stop using palm oil from companies destroying Indonesia's rainforests - events have unfolded rapidly, and everyone at Greenpeace is amazed at how our supporters have taken this so much further than we ever imagined. Here's a quick recap:

• Nestlé told Youtube to pull our video due to copyright infringement. It was later reinstated, but not before we'd uploaded it elsewhere and asked supporters to do the same. Current number of views: 585,000 and counting.
• Facebook users went to Nestlé's fan page to ask what the company was doing about their palm oil suppliers, where they were met with rude and arrogant responses from the company. Word of this spread like wildfire around the internet, and has been the talk of many high-profile blogs and news websites.
• Thousands of people around the world sent Nestlé CEO Paul Bulcke emails, but we've discovered that Nestlé blocked many of these. Now, emails are going to André Kudelski, a member of the board of directors, and we're working out what to do with the ones which didn't get through.

Nestlé have issued a statement saying that they'll stop buying directly from the worst supplier, Sinar Mas, but this doesn't go far enough as much of their palm oil comes through third parties, like Cargill, who continue to buy palm oil from Sinar Mas.

Your actions are having a big impact at Nestlé HQ. If you haven't already, email Nestlé now demanding they stop using palm oil and other products from the notorious Sinar Mas. We had some technical problems with our website on Wednesday so if you weren't able to send your email, it's working absolutely fine now.

And don't forget to share our Kit Kat video with your friends.

Thanks for your support,

Jamie Woolley
22 March 2010

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