Coca-Cola, Kellogg’s, Mattel and Takeda Pharmaceuticals top list of international brands guilty of abusing consumer rights

Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Posted in Human Rights | Tagged Human Rights

The world federation of consumer organisations, Consumers International (CI) today announced the winners of the International Bad Product Awards, to be presented at CI�s World Congress in Sydney, Australia, 29 Oct � 1 November 2007. The awards aim to highlight failings of corporate responsibility and the abuse of consumer trust by internationally recognised brands. The announcement comes as 400 delegates from national consumer organisations and governments, convene in Sydney to attend CI�s World Congress.

This year�s winners* are:

Coca-Cola � for continuing the international marketing of its bottled water, Dasani, despite admitting it comes from the same sources as local tap water.

Kellogg�s � for the worldwide use of cartoon-type characters and product tie-ins aimed at children, despite high levels of sugar and salt in their food products.

Mattel � for stonewalling US congressional investigations and avoiding overall responsibility for the global recall of 21 million products.

With the overall prize going to:

Takeda Pharmaceuticals � for taking advantage of poor US regulation and advertising sleeping pills to children, despite health warnings about pediatric use.

Richard Lloyd, Director General of Consumers International, said:
“These multi-billion dollar companies are global brands with a responsibility to be honest, accountable and responsible. In highlighting their short-comings Consumers International and its 220 member organisations are holding corporations to account and demanding businesses take social responsibility seriously.”

Download the CI press briefing

*Full details of each nomination can be found in the accompanying CI Press briefing, which can be downloaded here:

http://www.consumersinternational.org/Shared_ASP_Files/UploadedFiles/527739D3-1D7B-47AF-B85C-6FD25779149B_InternationalBadProductsAwards-pressbriefing.pdf
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Notes
1. Consumers International (CI) is the only independent global campaigning voice for consumers. With over 220 member organisations in 115 countries, we are building a powerful international consumer movement to help protect and empower consumers everywhere. For more information, visit http://www.consumersinternational.org/

2. The International Bad Product nominations were submitted by CI member organisations and CI expert staff. The final four, including the overall winner, were chosen by the CI Secretariat and are detailed below. Criteria for final selection included the size of the company, the global scale of sales and marketing, the direct impact on consumers, and the potential actionable change by the corporation.