The Coca-Cola Company established itself as a premier beverage business by maximizing
its production and distribution throughout the world. These strong production efforts were
met with equally effective marketing campaigns which led to it becoming the biggest
beverage company in the world. Due to these accomplishments, many of Coca-Colas
controversial labor and business practices have been overlooked by many in the general
public. However, more people are becoming aware of these disputes due to student and
activist unions pressuring some of the largest and well-known universities in the United
States to ban Coca-Cola products. These educational institutions include the University of
Michigan, New York University, Rutgers University, and Santa Clara University. Although
the banning of Coke products in these universities represents only a small percentage of
the Coca-Cola Companys sales, it has done much harm to their reputation. This case
discusses the allegations against the Coca-Cola Company, as well their responses to them.
Coca-Cola has been battling activists and trade union groups in different countries for
years. In Colombia, they have been accused of hiring paramilitary death squads to kidnap,
intimidate, or kill its union leaders and other workers at its bottling plants. This is
suspected due to the fact that eight union leaders of these plants have been murdered, and
many others claim to have been abducted and tortured. Additionally, the Coca-Cola
Company faces more opposition in India for draining the underground water table, selling
beverages containing harmful pesticide residues, and distributing sludge containing toxic
