Ben & Jerry's Can Get Back Its Cool

Ben & Jerry's can get back its cool

By curing Unilever's Mercury Fever

Kodaikanal, India, is a cool, picturesque and verdant hilltown in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. In the mid-1980s, when the US was cleaning up its act by phasing out sources of mercury pollution, Chesebrough Pond's – now Unilever – moved a polluting second-hand mercury thermometer factory from Watertown, NY, to Kodaikanal. Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that can damage the brain of a developing fetus, and cause memory loss, dementia and kidney disease among people exposed to it. However, by claiming that it was a non-polluting glass factory, the company fooled the unknowing Kodaikanal villagers into allowing them to set up the factory in a residential area, right next to a biodiverse forest area.

For 18 years, the factory recklessly discharged toxic mercury wastes to its factory grounds and the nearby forests. In 2001, irate community residents exposed how Unilever had dumped 7 tonnes of mercury-laced broken thermometers in a scrapyard in a crowded part of town. The factory was shut down by the state regulatory agency.

Subsequent studies have shown that:

a) the factory grounds and surroundings are severely contaminated with mercury;

b) water and fish in the heavily touristed Kodaikanal Lake are contaminated.

c) workers and their families, including children are suffering from a range of debilitating health effects. http://kodaimercury.org/final-report-of-the-goi-committee/

Mounting medical costs and the stress of raising brain-damaged children has wrecked many worker families. Dozens of ex-workers and their children have died premature deaths.

Unilever professes to be a socially responsible company committed to environmental protection, poverty eradication and treating its workers fairly. While these claims are bolstered by a $6 billion advertising revenue, the company is hiding its dirty toxic secret in Kodaikanal. Fourteen years after being caught red-handed, Unilever has not cleaned up the environment, compensated its workers or assisted them with medical rehabilitation.

YOU CAN HELP:

As a shareholder

a) inform yourself about your company's failure to address its liabilities in Kodaikanal, India

b) attend the AGM in Leatherhead, UK on 30 April, and Rotterdam, the Netherlands on 29 April and raise questions about Kodaikanal.