Who really profits from Mexican coffee? | Weekly Update 5 March
Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
We are an international NGO that tracks the human rights impacts of over 10,000 companies in over 180 countries.
Empower LLC, Coffee Watch, ProDESC
Nestlé and Starbucks’ coffee supply chains in Mexico reportedly contribute to poverty cycles and human rights abuses among farmers in Chiapas and Veracruz, according to a report by Empower LLC, Coffee Watch and ProDESC.
The report highlights opaque pricing and purchasing practices that fall significantly short of production costs and leave small-scale farmers vulnerable, with major traders like NKG, Casemex and AMSA controlling the market and reportedly dictating unfavourable terms.
Despite the companies’ corporate sustainability claims, researchers allege that Nestlé’s 4C and Starbucks’ C.A.F.E. Practices certification schemes often exclude small producers, making it harder for them to sell outside exploitative systems.
The report also documents allegations of violent suppression of protests and arbitrary detentions linked to coffee traders in collusion with local authorities.
Researchers are urging more transparency, fairer pricing and greater autonomy of small producers.
?? We invited all named companies to respond to allegations. Starbucks, Nestlé, and NKG provided responses. AMSA and Casemex did not.
BUSINESS & HUMAN RIGHTS IN FOCUS?
COMPANIES LINKED TO ISRAEL'S OCCUPATION & GENOCIDE:
Hundreds of protestors have blocked the Copenhagen headquarters of shipping company Maersk after a Palestinian Youth Movement investigation and Danwatch report revealed that it shipped thousands of tons of military equipment to Israel between 2023 and 2024 amid Israel's war on Gaza. In a statement, Maersk maintained that the cargo transported to Israel ‘does not contain weapons or ammunition’.
Meanwhile, a Guardian report found 760 Airbnb and Booking.com listings in illegal West Bank settlements, enabling settlers to profit from occupied land. Amnesty International warns that the platforms may be complicit in war crimes, while Dutch prosecutors are investigating a criminal complaint against Booking.com.
An Airbnb spokesperson said that since 2019 it has donated profits generated from host activity in the West Bank. A spokesperson for Booking.com said: ‘It’s up to travellers to choose where they want and need to go’.
At the same time, Israeli forces arrested more than 400 Palestinian workers last week for ‘residing without permits.’ With few job opportunities and lower pay in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, many endure harsh conditions at military checkpoints while seeking to cross the border for work.
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PIPELINE PROTESTS:
Governments and corporations are pushing back against activists' opposition to crude oil pipelines, despite growing concerns over environmental damage and impacts on local communities.
The governments of Uganda and Tanzania have urged the East African Court of Justice to dismiss a petition from four CSOs seeking to halt the East African Crude Oil Pipeline. The pipeline, owned by TotalEnergies, China National Oil Corporation, Uganda National Oil Company and Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation, has faced opposition since 2006 due to concerns over ecosystem destruction and community displacement.
In the USA, Energy Transfer Partners’ USD300m lawsuit against Greenpeace over Dakota Access pipeline protests has begun. The company accuses Greenpeace of defamation and inciting criminal activity, while critics call the lawsuit a SLAPP aimed at silencing opponents. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe continues to oppose the pipeline over land rights violations and water contamination concerns.
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GARMENT WORKERS IN BANGLADESH:
Home-based garment workers in Bangladesh’s export supply chain, 93% of whom are women, remain invisible, underpaid and exploited according to a study by Bangladesh Labour Foundation. Many are climate-displaced, lack legal protection, and rely on middlemen who take a cut of their wages.
Meanwhile, around 500 garment factories may struggle to pay wages and Eid bonuses due to declining orders and the energy crisis. Current labour laws stipulate that factory owners must pay wages within seven working days of the following month, but 28 factories have reportedly failed to pay January salaries, with two still owing for December. Authorities warn of potential unrest, with 170 factories at high risk of failing to meet payments.
Separately, the Garment Sramik Oikya Forum, a garment workers’ rights group, is demanding the release of labour leaders allegedly detained on ‘baseless cases’ following recent worker protests over unpaid wages.
Find out more about how brand purchasing practices influence labour rights outcomes with our Who Pays For The Crisis? portal.
AROUND THE WORLD
AFRICA
Spotlight:
IDEX
A coalition of Zimbabwean civil society organizations has accused security guards from the state-owned Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) of killing citizens and torturing artisanal miners in the Marange diamond fields. They highlight a recent case on 28 January in which an artisanal miner was allegedly chased, beaten, and attacked by dogs before dying from his injuries.
Eight organisations, including the National Mine Workers Union of Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe Artisanal Miners Association, are demanding that ZCDC acknowledge its role in the death and take steps to prevent further abuses.
ZCDC stated that the case is under police investigation and declined to comment further.
Other news from the region:
AMERICAS
Spotlight:
AP
Brazil’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office is suing mining giant Vale, the federal government, and the state of Pará over heavy metal contamination affecting the Xikrin. A study found dangerously high levels of lead, mercury and nickel in nearly all 720 people tested in the Xikrin do Cateté Indigenous Territory, allegedly linked to Vale’s On?a-Puma nickel mine. Prosecutors demand permanent health monitoring and stronger environmental oversight.
In a statement, Vale said that experts appointed by a federal court had determined its operations were not responsible for contaminating the Catete River and that it monitors water quality around its mining sites.
Other news from the region:
ASIA & PACIFIC
Spotlight:
S. Korea: Hyundai Engineering under investigation following bridge collapse that killed four workers
News1, Korea Bizwire, KBS
An investigation has begun into the Seoul-Sejong Expressway bridge collapse on 25 February, which killed four workers and injured six others. The incident occurred at the Cheonyongcheon Bridge construction site, where ten workers fell 52 metres after the bridge deck collapsed. Hyundai Engineering, the contractor responsible for the project, apologised to the bereaved families, and said it is cooperating with the authorities to investigate the accident.
Meanwhile, Hyundai Engineering has been found liable for safety failures in a 2017 construction accident that left a worker with brain damage and paralysis.
See also: A study reveals that only two per cent of fatal workplace accidents lead to punishment under South Korea’s serious accident law.
Other news from the region:
EUROPE & CENTRAL ASIA
Spotlight:
CNN, Global Witness
The Netherlands Institute for Human Rights has ruled that Facebook’s advertising algorithm reinforces gender stereotypes by disproportionately showing female users job ads for ‘typically female professions’. The ruling follows an investigation by Global Witness, which found similar patterns across multiple countries.
The Institute said that Meta, Facebook’s owner, failed to prove its algorithm does not engage in gender discrimination and must revise it to prevent further bias.
A Meta spokesperson said that it applies audience targeting restrictions for job ads, stating ‘we do not allow advertisers to target these ads based on gender’.
Other news from the region:
MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA
Spotlight:
ANF
Kurdish workers migrating from economically struggling provinces in eastern Türkiye are facing harsh conditions and inadequate workplace safety in the construction sector, leading to a rise in fatalities. In 2024 and early 2025, 27 young workers from Van have died in workplace accidents, with falls from heights being the leading cause. Experts blame poor enforcement of safety laws and lack of oversight.
Other news from the region:
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Catch up on company responses & non-responses to key stories from previous weeks:
RTE
In January, RTE reported that a migrant security worker employed by BGS Security to guard several shops in Dublin, including a SPAR, SuperValu and Great Outdoors store, experienced wage theft.
The worker alleges BGS Security did not pay him for 230 hours of work in a complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission. The worker also says a number of other BGS Security employees are in a similar position to him.
The company allegedly failed to appear before the Workplace Relations Commission hearing in January.
We invited SPAR, SuperValu and Great Outdoors to respond to the allegations. Great Outdoors responded, SPAR and SuperValu did not.
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