Welcome to the Baby Milk Action Student Network! Hi, my name is Beth Brockett and I am your contact for all student Nestlé boycott and other student Baby Milk Action queries. My contact details will be on the bottom of this letter and on all student boycott material. Please feel free to contact me with any queries, ideas or concerns - I will be happy to talk to you. Baby Milk Action is a Cambridge-based organisation which campaigns to make Nestlé and other baby food companies abide by the World Health Assembly marketing requirements for their products. Nestlé is the focus of an international boycott as Nestlé controls about 40% of the baby milk market. It sets market and advertising trends and put pressure on governments’ infant nutrition policies. It is also the largest single source of violations of the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes and subsequent , relevant Resolutions adopted by the World Health Assembly. As a powerful consumer and political body, student unions and groups have been, and still are, a huge thorn in the side of Nestlé. By adding our name to the Nestlé boycott list (there are currently 80 student unions across the UK boycotting Nestlé, along with hundreds of other organisations in 20 countries!) we send a powerful message to these irresponsible multinational companies about corporate responsibility, accountability and the rights of mothers. Nestlé has a history of finding it hard to recruit graduates in the UK- let’s make sure all potential recruits are aware of Nestlé’s malpractices. As the Baby Milk Action student network we work closely with Baby Milk Action, but add our own student-focus to the campaign. We are here to support student groups and unions. We can provide everything from campaign ideas and materials, to speaker tours, sample letters and articles, help you draw up a calendar of action, provide motions for student unions and act as a point of contact for links with other groups (amongst other stuff!) If you don’t have a Nestlé boycott in your union, you have a referendum coming up, you want to kick Nestlé off campus completely or you just don’t think people realise why the boycott is there- look no further- we can help. The BIG focus - As a twist to the boycott how about a ‘buycott’? As an added bonus to responsible consumerism, why not focus on fair-trade alternatives to Nestlé? Fair-trade coffee, chocolate, tea and all kinds of products can be promoted – and you could establish links with local development groups and suppliers. This is just one way of re-vamping your boycott. See the ‘campaigning ideas’ sheet for loads more! We are also hoping this year to set up links between student groups and campaign groups in the developing world. We feel this could be a fruitful way for both parties to gain an insight how different groups work and how Nestlé adversely affects people all over the world. You can download the student campaign pack from the Baby Milk Action site at http://archive.babymilkaction.org/students/ - have a look, contact us with any issues you want addressing and good luck! Please feel free to reproduce any materials sent to you. Baby Milk Action stands by everything it publishes, but be careful not to change meanings if you are editing. Beth PS I am really keen to send a newsletter out to all the network- so please please let me know what’s been happening with you. Articles, photos, poems etc etc all very welcome!