According to the British "Sun" reported on February 26, Hollywood star George Clooney once served as a spokesperson for Nestlé, earning 31 million pounds (about 280 million yuan).
According to his own investigation, he claimed that Nestlé espresso beans were picked by child labor and subsequently processed, and worked in the factory for up to 8 hours, but the remuneration was less than 5 pounds (about 46 yuan).
Clooney, 58, joined Nestlé's Sustainability Advisory Board in 2013 and represented the company with a public image for many years.
The Oscar winner said publicly in a statement that he was surprised and sad to learn that there was child labor and that the board would follow up on the matter.
Clooney, a spokesman, said he has been working on tobacco farms since he was 12 years old and has a deep understanding of the complex issues between agriculture and child labor.
Nestlé CEO Guillaume Le Cunff also said in a statement that Nestlé has "zero tolerance" for child labour and promised to conduct a thorough investigation and take appropriate action against farm suppliers if they fail to meet employment standards.
Nestlé, a coffee giant from Switzerland, has achieved great commercial success worldwide with its stylish coffee machines and pods.
The main sources of coffee beans include Brazil, Colombia and Costa Rica, and the child labor survey confirmed that children from guatemalan farms, the world's tenth-largest coffee producer, not only need to pick coffee beans, but also perform heavy manual labor.
Frankly speaking, the employment of child labor and the exploitation of wages do need to be well suppressed, but these phenomena occur in less developed countries or regions with large disparities between rich and poor, and changing their roots is not a problem that Nestlé can completely solve without employment.
Children do need better care, but if there is no choice, the burden of providing for their families will not fall on their shoulders.