A new investigation has revealed that children under the age of 13 working on farms in Guatemala supply the Starbucks coffee chain. According to a British Channel 4 photographer’s investigation, children work 40 hours a week in harsh conditions, and they pick coffee for a daily wage that is just over the price of a Latte cup at Starbucks. Coffee beans are also provided for the Nestlé chain, owned by Nestlé. Last week, actor George Clooney, the advertising face of "Nespresso", praised the investigation and said he was saddened by his findings.
The investigative team said that some children, who worked about eight hours a day, six days a week, appeared at the age of eight. The wages are paid depending on the weight of the grain they harvested, as the bag weighs sometimes to 45 kg. Usually, the child earns less than 5 pounds a day.
For his part, said the CEO of "Nespresso", Guillaume Loconf: "Nespresso never tolerate child labor, it is not acceptable."
He added: "When there are allegations of not meeting our high standards, we act immediately, and in this case, we have launched a comprehensive investigation to find out which farms were photographed and whether they are supplying the company, and we will not resume purchasing coffee from the farms until the investigation is completed, and any issues revealed will be Take it seriously and take firm action. "
Starbucks also said: “We never tolerate child labor anywhere in the supply chain,” explaining, “We have launched a full investigation into the conditions uncovered by Channel 4.”
(The Observer)