When branding is successful, a product transcends its own reality as a mere consumer good becoming something more—an icon. A symbol which represents a complex array of memories and emotions when its visage is invoked. In the case of the Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Company, over one-hundred years of marketing have transformed a simple carbonated concoction of caramel-colored syrup into a globally recognizable representation of the American way. Now operating in more than two-hundred countries and spending $7 million per day on advertising, Coke has become emblematic of the very essence of American life. The Coca-Cola Company’s CEO, Neville Isdell, claims the fundamental nature of the Coke brand is it “is a decent thing, honestly made.” Unfortunately, much like American culture, a glimpse beneath the glamour of glossy PR reveals an underbelly of seedy business practices that fly in the face of common conceptions. Today, allegations of human rights violations in Columbia and egregious environmental practices in India are tarnishing this nostalgic American icon.

Murder and Intimidation in Columbia

In 1996 at 9 a.m. on the 5th of December, Isidro Segundo Gil was assassinated inside a Coca-Cola bottling plant in Carepa which operates near the Columbian border with Panama. The leader of the local branch of a food and drink workers trade union, SINALTRAINAL, Gil was shot to death by right-wing paramilitaries—the fourth such killing in the Carepa plant since 1994. After killing Gil, the paramilitaries burned out and occupied the local union office. Two days later they returned to the bottling plant and forced employees to sign letters of resignation from the union—printed on company machines—which were in turn collected by the management. After a four year battle to obtain justice for the murder of her husband, Gil’s wife, Alcira del Carmen Herera Perez, was murdered in front of their daughters.

This is only one instance in a long list of premeditated violence and intimidation

This is only one instance in a long list of premeditated violence and intimidation experienced by SINALTRAINAL members in Columbia’s Coca-Cola bottling plants. According to an independent fact-finding delegation sent to Columbia from New York City in 2004, there have been 179 major human-rights violations of Coca-Cola’s workers. Nine union members have been murdered, and family members of union activists have been abducted and tortured. Others have been fired for participating in union activities. The delegation concluded that there was no way for the paramilitaries to gain access to the bottling plants without “company knowledge and/or tacit approval.” The bottling plant managers continue to deny they made any arrangements with paramilitaries, however, numerous witnesses have seen bottling company officials meeting with, and making payments to, paramilitary leaders. Regardless, since 1993 membership in the union has fallen from 1,440 members in Coke plants to 389 members in 2004.

These issues were brought to the attention of the American public in July of 2001 when a civil action was lodged on behalf of SINALTRAINAL by lawyers with the United Steelworkers of America and the International Labor Rights Fund. The claim for relief and damages was filed under the 1789 Alien Tort Claims Act in a Miami district court against the bottling companies operating in Columbia and the Coca-Cola Company.

Pollution and Water Exploitation in India

Meanwhile in Plachimada, India, Coca-Cola was busy expressing its supposed generosity to local aboriginal peoples in the form of free toxic “fertilizer.” In July 2003, a BBC Radio-4 report discovered the “bio-sludge” byproducts which Coke had given to locals to spread on their fields was dangerously laden with heavy metals—particularly cadmium and lead. Contrary to the claims made on the company website, the sludge also had no value as fertilizer, the report said. Cadmium is a known carcinogen which causes kidney damage and exposure to lead can cause mental derangement and death. Lead is especially dangerous to children; exposure can result in severe anemia and mental retardation.

Even the Coca-Cola products distributed for consumption in India have been found to be toxic, containing levels of pesticides—including DDT, lindane and malathion—up to 30 times higher than US and EU allowances. The pesticides were discovered by the Center for Science and Environment (CSE), a new Delhi-based non-governmental organization. Some Indian farmers are even spraying Coke on their crops because it is cheaper than obtaining actual pesticides. Much to the detriment of both the Coca-Cola Company and its rival PepsiCo, on December 2004 India’s Supreme Court ruled that both companies must label all cans and bottles of the respective soft drinks with a consumer warning of high pesticide content.

Pages: 1 2