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The Nestlé boycott was launched on July 4, 1977 in the United States, from where it has spread rapidly. It was prompted by concern about the company's marketing of breastmilk substitutes, which campaigners claim contributes to the unnecessary death and suffering of babies, especially in developing countries. According to the United Nation's Children's Fund ( UNICEF): "Improved breastfeeding practices and reduction of artificial feeding could save an estimated 1.5 million children a year." (State of the World's Children 2001) Nestlé's marketing strategy was first exposed in New Internationalist magazine in 1973 and in a booklet called The Baby Killer published by the British non-governmental organisation War on Want in 1974. When this was translated into German by Swiss group Third World Action it was titled Nestlé kills babies (Nestlé tötet Babys). Nestlé attempted to sue the publisher. After a two-year trial, the court found in favour of Nestlé and fined the group a token 300 Swiss francs because Nestlé could not be held responsible for the infant deaths 'in terms of criminal law'. The Judge commented: "If the complainant in future wants to be spared the accusation of immoral and unethical conduct, it will have to change its advertising practices".

The widespread publicity led to the launch of the boycott in Minneapolis, USA. In May 1978 the US Senate held a public hearing into the promotion of breastmilk substitutes in developing countries and joined calls for a Marketing Code. This was developed under the auspices of the World Health Organisation and UNICEF and adopted by the World Health Assembly in 1981 as the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes. The Code covers infant formula and other milk products, foods and beverages, when marketed or otherwise represented to be suitable as a partial or total replacement of breastmilk. It bans the promotion of breastmilk substitutes and gives health workers the responsibility of advising parents. It limits manufacturing companies to the provision of scientific and factual information to health workers and sets out labelling requirements.

In 1984 boycott coordinators met with Nestlé and accepted the company's undertaking that it would abide by the Code, but the coordinators were not satisfied with Nestlé's subsequent action and the boycott was relaunched in 1988.

The boycott is now coordinated by the International Nestlé Boycott Committee, the secretariat for which is the UK group Baby Milk Action. Company practices are monitored by the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN), which consists of more than 200 groups in over 100 countries. In IBFAN's Breaking the Rules monitoring reports, which profile the major baby food companies, Nestlé is held responsible for more violations of the Code and other World Health Assembly Resolutions than any other company. IBFAN runs letter-writing and media campaigns to expose and target violations by other companies.

In July 1999 the UK Advertising Standards Authority upheld complaints against the company brought by Baby Milk Action and published a ruling against a Nestlé anti-boycott advertisement in which the company claimed to market infant formula 'ethically and responsibly'.

In November 2000 the European Parliament invited IBFAN, UNICEF and Nestlé to present evidence to a Public Hearing before the Development and Cooperation Committee. Evidence was presented by the IBFAN group from Pakistan and UNICEF's legal officer commented on Nestlé's failure to bring its policies into line with the World Health Assembly Resolutions. Nestlé declined an invitation to attend, though it sent a representative of the auditing company it had commissioned to produce a report on its Pakistan operation.

Coordinators claim that the boycott, which has been launched officially in 20 countries, keeps the issue in the public eye and has helped to stop specific examples of Nestlé malpractice. Baby Milk Action has put a four-point plan to Nestlé setting out the steps it considers necessary to end the boycott:

1. Nestlé must state in writing that it accepts that the International Code and the subsequent relevant World Health Assembly Resolutions are minimum requirements for every country.

2. Nestlé must state in writing that it will make the required changes to bring its baby food marketing policy and practice into line with the International Code and Resolutions.

3. Baby Milk Action will take the statements to the International Nestlé Boycott Committee and suggest that representatives meet with Nestlé to discuss its timetable for making the required changes.

4. If IBFAN monitoring finds no Nestlé violations for 18 months, the boycott will be lifted.

Nestlé has so far refused to start the process.

In parallel with the boycott, campaigners work for implementation of the Code and Resolutions in legislation and claim that 60 countries have now introduced laws implementing most or all of the provisions.

Nestlé is sometimes targeted for other aspects of its operations. A Brazilian group called Citizens for Water (Cidadania pelas Aguas) has called a boycott of Nestlé in Brazil over the company's extraction of water from an aquifer in São Lourenço. Some also boycott Nestlé coffeeThis article discusses the coffee plant; for information on the beverage see coffee (drink). Coffea arabica Arabian Coffee Coffea benghalensis Bengal Coffee Coffea canephora Robusta Coffee Coffea congensis Congo Coffee Coffea liberica Liberian Coffee Coff and chocolateChocolate is a common ingredient in many kinds of sweets—one of the most popular in the world. Chocolate is made from the fermented, roasted and ground seeds of the tropical cacao tree Theobroma cacao''. The resulting product is known as "chocolate," an i products in favour of Fair Trade alternatives.