This is about people's basic human rights stated in the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights not being observed. Many human rights violations occur within the coffee industry daily. No Way Nescafé will tell you about human rights abuses in the coffee industry, how buying Nescafé contributes to them, and how to stop it from happening. This website is here to encourage you to
take action against unfair coffee trade.

"Our self-esteem is being destroyed. Historically, women trade cacota (low-quality beans) to buy clothing, food and to send their children to school. The men's income goes to pay debt and maintain the farms."
Luz Marina Zuluaga, coffee farmer, Colombia (www.maketradefair.com)

Farmers are selling their coffee for little or no profit to multinational companies such as Nestle who in turn make huge profits at the expense of the farmers. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states,

“Everyone has the right to ... just and favourable conditions of work ... equal pay for equal work ... favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity ”
(Article 23, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, www.un.org).

"At Nestlé we buy about 12% of the world’s annual crop for our range of coffees. So we naturally have a part in ensuring that growers receive fair prices for their coffee. Indeed, if coffee was not economically viable for farmers, then they would grow something else and we would not be able to obtain the supply of good quality beans we need."

What Nestlé fail to acknowledge however, is that people desperate to keep a roof over their head and feed their family are not concerned with what percentage of the market a company is buying and do not stop to consider whether they are getting a fair price for their product. The farmers take what they can and do not argue in order to make some kind of living while retaining at least some of their dignity by not begging for a better price.

"We focus our attention on providing scientific and agricultural assistance to the farming communities to increase the yield and quality of what the farms produce. The price paid to farmers for their coffee is ultimately determined by the market price quoted on the international coffee exchanges in London and New York."