Tag Archives: stop bottled water

Save our planet – Stop Nestlé from taking our water and wrapping it in plastic

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Dear Readers,

Nestlé thinks it can buy its way to a positive public image. So the corporation is mounting a major misinformation campaign in Southern California. From billboards to newspaper spots to ads on popular local websites, Nestlé is scrambling to convince the people of California that it’s a good steward of the environment. But with your help, we can fight back with educational ads of our own, ensuring people know the truth: Nestlé needs to be stopped for the public good.

Our campaign against Nestlé is already making waves. On April 25th, I’ll be representing the more than one million members of the Story of Stuff Community in a federal courtroom as our lawsuit to hold Nestlé accountable for its unpermitted withdrawal of water from the San Bernardino National Forest goes before a judge. Along with with our partners Courage Campaign and Center for Biological Diversity, we’ll argue that the U.S. Forest Service should turn off the spigot on Nestlé’s continuing, illegal extraction of water from these drought-ravaged public lands.

But we know Nestlé won’t go away quietly, which is why we’re asking you to help us fund a full-page ad in the San Bernardino Sun newspaper to raise publicity about Nestlé’s illegal actions, and help more people get engaged.

Help us show Nestlé and the U.S. Forest Service that the public wants our water to stay in the mountains, not in Nestlé’s bottles.

Nestlé knows that the public support behind the Story of Stuff Project and our partners has the potential to put an end to its bad behavior, which is why Nestlé spends millions of dollars on vague advertisements claiming it has a strong environmental record. But the facts couldn’t be further from the truth. The water level in the stream from which Nestlé is taking water in San Bernardino is at 10% of a 90-year historic average, and similar abuses are occurring worldwide.

Nestlé’s ability to suppress public debate is powerful. In fact, a billboard company that operates near the San Bernardino National Forest refused to do business with us in part because they fear losing out on Nestlé’s advertising dollars. So we’re buying a full-page ad in the San Bernardino Sun that will reach tens of thousands of local residents to set the record straight.

It’s time to show both Nestlé and the public that citizens around the world stand in solidarity with local efforts to protect the forest and its water. Please help us fund our full-page ad.

Donate to help us fight back against Nestlé’s misleading advertisements with a newspaper placement calling out their abuses and explaining how people can join our campaign.

Our lawsuit and your pressure have already had a significant impact, persuading the Forest Service to begin reviewing Nestlé’s expired permit for the first time in almost three decades. As the date of our hearing approaches, our opportunity to curtail Nestlé’s illegal water grab in San Bernardino is at an all-time high. We know that millions of people around the world support our efforts, and we want to bring that message directly to San Bernardino, where Nestlé employees AND Forest Service officials charged with protecting this forest will see it.

With your help we can deliver our message in the most commonly read newspaper in San Bernardino. With enough funds, we’ll buy more strategic ad space elsewhere in the region. It’s time to set the record straight and let local folks how they can get involved in our global campaign to hold Nestlé accountable.

Preview the ad text on our donation page, and contribute to make it a reality!

Together we can show Nestlé that our planet’s people and ecosystems aren’t for sale. With the water level in the National Forest’s Strawberry Creek now far below historic averages, the plant and animal life that depend on the water don’t have time to spare.

Thanks to your support our campaign is growing, and we’re starting to see Nestlé react. We know that if we keep the pressure up, amazing change is possible!
Are you in?

Yes, I’ll pledge $10

Yes, I’ll pledge $25

Yes, I’ll pledge $50

Yes, I’ll pledge $100

Yes, I will pledge another amount

In Solidarity,

Michael O’Heaney
Executive Director
The Story of Stuff

Save our Planet – Tell Nestlé Waters’ CEO to stop violating public laws

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Story of Stuff Project

Nestlé’s CEO says he cares what Story of Stuff Community members think.
Let’s tell him loud and clear: stop violating public laws to privatize our water!

TAKE ACTION!

Dear Reader,

When we announced that we were suing to stop Nestle from taking water in California’s San Bernardino National Forest during the drought, even Time Magazine couldn’t wait to get its hands on the story.

Now the US Forest Service’s deadline to respond to our lawsuit is less than two weeks away, and Nestlé is getting nervous. Initially, the CEO of Nestlé Waters North America, Tim Brown, was unfazed by public criticism of his California operations. Last summer, when a journalist asked Brown if he would stop bottling water during California’s record-breaking drought, he replied that he would increase it if he could. But outcry from The Story of Stuff Project’s global community of over one million members has begun to change his tune.

Following our petition calling on Nestlé to cease taking water from public lands altogether, Nestlé’s CEO responded to us directly:

“The feedback and constructive criticism that Nestlé gets from groups like Story of Stuff is important, even when we disagree. In fact, we have used input like this on many occasions globally to adapt our operations… One thing I would appreciate is some perspective on how we might do it better in the eyes of your constituents.”

Nestlé hoped to schedule a private meeting with our staff. But the truth is that the problems in San Bernardino are part of a larger pattern of Nestlé’s repeated disregard for public laws and resources. To ensure Nestlé receives the message that it’s time to change the way it does business everywhere, we think that Nestlé’s CEO deserves to hear from the public directly.

Will you join us in e-mailing Nestlé Waters North American CEO Tim Brown to demand accountability today?

Our demands for Nestle are simple:

  • Stop bottling water from the San Bernardino National Forest and other protected lands
  • Withdraw from all sites where communities are protesting the privatization of their water, including Cascade Locks OR, Kunkletown PA, Mt. Shasta, CA, Fryeburg, ME, and Vancouver, BC
  • Pay to cleanup the waste generated by polluting plastic products. Stop pushing the cost of cleanup onto taxpayers.

The water that Nestlé has taken from the San Bernardino National Forest since its permit expired is estimated at over 1,838,451,342 gallons. This water would cost a regular California citizen millions of dollars. Yet Nestlé has paid the government a fraction of that cost to bottle the public’s resources. The lawsuit filed by The Story of Stuff Project, Center for Biological Diversity and Courage Campaign has gotten Nestle’s attention in California, but public action is what will result in lasting, global change.

Join us now in responding to Nestlé CEO’s request for input, by sending him an e-mail explaining why you think water should be a public resource, NOT a source for private profits.

Thank you for all you do!
Emma Cape, Campaigns Manager, on behalf of The Story of Stuff team

Save our planet – Nestle pays next to nothing to take your water and make millions!

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Click on the words above “Save our planet – Nestle pays next to nothing to take your water and make millions!” to see this entire post.

In the midst of California’s historic drought, Nestle Waters—the largest bottler of water in the world—is drawing millions of gallons of water a year from the San Bernardino National Forest. Nestle’s permit to remove this precious resource expired in 1988, at which point the Forest Service should have turned off the spigot.

In this four-minute documentary, experts and activists explain the impact Nestle’s operation is having on the forest and demand that the company and our government ensure this shared public resource is protected for future generations.

Visit the folks at The story of stuff, who made this video here

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Nestlé’s permit to transport water through a pipeline across southern California’s San Bernardino National Forest expired in 1988. But the U.S. Forest Service, which is charged with ensuring public land resources are well managed, has bowed to pressure from Nestlé to allow the corporation to continue pumping water.

Every year, Nestlé has paid $524 to the Forest Service to operate its pipeline, nowhere near what the water it removes is worth. Nestlé then turns around and sells that water back to Californians and others in plastic bottles, making millions in the process.

And while California residents and businesses have significantly reduced their water use to combat the drought, Nestlé has refused to do its part. In fact, when asked if Nestlé Waters would consider stopping its bottling operations in California, CEO Tim Brown told KPCC public radio, “Absolutely not…In fact, if I could increase it, I would.”

Nestlé is feeling the pressure from the hundreds of thousands of people around the world who’ve spoken out through petitions and other actions. Now it’s time to up the stakes, and send a message to Nestlé’s corporate headquarters. That’s why we’ve filed suit: to force the Forest Service to stop Nestlé’s illegal operation and undertake a full review of its permit once and for all.