John,

Wow. Nestlé is packing up shop and is quitting the bottled water industry in Canada -- and there's a strong chance they could be about to do the same in the U.S. and China!

Last month, Nestlé said that it is considering selling its water brands in North America in 2021 because it’s not worth doing business there. Three weeks later, Nestlé sold all its operations in Canada. And then just last week, Nestlé said it might drop its brands in China as well.

And why is Nestlé quitting the water business worldwide? Because SumOfUs members like you never gave up the fight against Nestlé all over the world -- chipping in to its profits by increasing its lawyer fees, preventing its permits from being approved and creating an ever-growing public relations nightmare.

Our fight against Nestlé, and other water companies profiting off bottled water, will continue until they are banned world wide. But before we go back to fighting Nestlé to make sure it stops sucking the world's water dry, we wanted to take a step back to celebrate some of the incredible work you’ve done against Nestlé in the past 5 years -- leading to them exit the Canadian market.

Here is a snapshot of some of the biggest moments against Nestlé in Canada where it sold its operations, in the USA where you supported local groups in Michigan, Oregon, Florida, and California, and in France where you helped win a huge victory for the town of Vittel.

Canada

We were able to get Nestlé to sell its operations in Canada because we hit the water giant time and time again at its biggest operations in British Columbia and Ontario.

In one of our biggest Canadian petitions ever -- we had a win against Nestlé and other industrial water users hours before delivering your message with a giant mobile billboard. Because of your support, we got the government of British Columbia to agree to revisit the amount of money that Nestlé and other water users pay in the province. In this campaign, we exposed that Nestlé paid only two dollars and twenty five cents for 100 million litres of water, which created a lasting PR nightmare for the company.

Celebrating with a giant billboard post petition delivery in Langley BC

Meanwhile, in Ontario, you stopped Nestlé from getting a new permit that would allow it to pump 1.6 million litres a day from a community that would be relying on that water for drinking, washing and cooking and made Nestlé’s greed for our public water a political issue.

It's no wonder why Nestlé sold its operations in Canada -- you fought against them every step of the way.

USA

Nestlé is also likely going to leave the US market because you fought back against them in Oregon, Michigan, Florida, and California.

Perhaps our biggest win against Nestlé in the US was in Oregon -- when SumOfUs members like you stopped Nestlé’s plans to pump fresh water out of Cascade Locks, Oregon to bottle and sell for massive profits. You supported local activists who fought Nestlé's plan for nine years leading to this massive win in Oregon.

SumOfUs members also made a difference in the battle between Nestlé and Michigan. When Nestlé tried to sue a tiny township government in Michigan, you showed up chipping in over $50,000 US, preventing Osceola Township from declaring bankruptcy, all for issuing a permit rejecting the bottled water giant from taking more water from its watershed. The best part -- Osceola won their lawsuit!

We also participated in a floating protest to stop Nestlé from bottling nearly two billion litres a year from the fragile Ginnie Springs in Florida shortly after we delivered a petition of 350,000 names to regional water officials -- and that put the brakes on Nestlé’s water grab.

Floating protest in Santa Fe, Florida hours after we delivered our petition to local government officials.

In California, SumOfUs members have been a thorn in Nestlé's side. We've called on the US Forest Service and then the California Water Board to stop the water bottled giant from sucking the state dry, and will continue our pressure until bottled water companies leave the Golden State.

France

When we found out that Nestlé was sucking 800 million liters of water each year from the small town of Vittel, France -- we fought back. Thanks to SumOfUs members like you who signed petitions, flooded consultations and showed up to protest in Vittel, the locals won their first battle against Nestlé. Last year the local government cancelled plans for a water pipeline project that would have forced the townspeople to pay as much as €30 million to let Nestlé drain all their water away.

SumOfUs in front of Nestlé bottling plant for World Water Day in 2019 in Vittel, France.

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Though Nestlé is leaving Canada and it seems it will leave the US and China, the fight against corporations draining water to sell for huge profits continues.

In Canada, we need to continue to fight against the new owners of Nestlé’s operations until we can ban bottled water companies in the country for good.

In the US, we need to work hard to make sure that Nestlé does follow Canada’s lead, and continue to support our partners in Michigan, California, Maine, and Florida to enact anti-water theft bills like in the State of Washington to ensure that Nestlé, or any other bottled water corporations, stop draining local aquifers to sell for massive profits.

And in France, China, Australia, and all over the world -- we need to continue our fight against Nestlé and other water companies continues to suck water to sell for massive profits.

We are a small team pitted against a multi billion dollar bottled water industry. And we have been able to fight back against Nestlé all because of members like you.

Would you consider chipping in for a monthly donation so we can keep up the fight against Nestlé and other bottled companies for years to come?