Nestle blasted on social media over alleged blatant 'greenwashing': 'The complete opposite of supporting nature'

A Redditor recently called out Nestlé's alleged greenwashing by sharing a photo of a Nestlé Corn Flakes box. 

"By purchasing this product you are supporting nature!" the box, which was apparently sold in Poland, proclaims. But just how eco-friendly is Nestlé? As it turns out, not very; the company was named one of the top three plastic polluters in the world for the fifth year in a row in 2022.

Along with its claim that purchasing Nestlé Corn Flakes supports the environment, the box boasts that the cereal is organic and vegan. 

"Nestle's greenwashing," the original poster claimed. Greenwashing is when a company presents an eco-friendly, sustainable image without taking meaningful action to reduce its impact on the environment. 

Commenters on the photo noted the subtle marketing tactics used to make the product appear eco-friendly. 

"The point of putting 'natural' on a box … is to take advantage of your biases that say 'natural is better,'" one Redditor noted. "Look how green that box is too!" another pointed out.

Nestlé owns over 2,000 brands globally, from Purina pet foods to Gerber baby food to San Pelligrino. Their sprawling portfolio relies heavily on single-use plastic packaging that ends up polluting our oceans, waterways, and ecosystems. 

Though Nestlé has promised to use 100% reusable or recyclable packaging by 2025, their plan to achieve this relies on burning plastic waste, releasing polluting gasses into the atmosphere. In fact, despite their promises to reduce plastic pollution, a 2022 study found Nestlé has increased its plastic pollution in recent years.

Nestlé's track record for pollution does not end with plastics. In 2018, Nestlé created over 124 million tons of harmful air pollutants. 

On top of harming the environment, Nestlé products have exposed consumers to potentially harmful microplastics. Of 11 bottled water brands evaluated in a 2018 study, Nestlé Pure Life water contained the most plastic particles per liter. 

"Buying nestle products is the complete opposite of supporting nature," one user commented.

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