George Clooney is reacting to the news that Nespresso has been linked to child labor. Clooney, of course, is considered “the face” of the brand. After the British program Dispatches reported that Nespresso relied on child labor at its farms, the Oscar-winner told Deadline that he was “saddened” by the news.
The 58-year-old added: “Having grown up working on a tobacco farm from the time I was 12 I’m uniquely aware of the complex issues regarding farming and child labor. That’s why I joined the Sustainability advisory board of Nespresso seven years ago along with the Rainforest Alliance, Fair Trade International, and the Fair Labour Association among many others with the goal then, as it remains to this day to improve the lives of farmers.”
“We knew it was a big project when it started 7 years ago, and honestly I was surprised and saddened to see this story,” he continued. “Clearly this board and this company still have work to do. And that work will be done. I would hope that this reporter will continue to investigate these conditions and report accurately if they do not improve.”
According to reports, some farms in Guatemala that Nespresso uses have kids working in the fields.
Nespresso’s CEO Guillaume Le Cunff said in a statement: “It is unacceptable. Where there are claims that our high standards are not met, we act immediately. In this case, we’ve launched a thorough investigation to find out which farms were filmed and whether they supply Nespresso.”
On social media, people were not impressed by the response. One critic wrote: “Is he going to donate his fees to a childrens charity? No I thought not. Just another lefty, woke, champagne socialist.”
Another opined: “Saddened but quite happy to take the money. Another celeb hypocrite.”