The manufacturer of Dove soap and Magnum ice cream has defended its decision to continue operating in Russia after the latter has been waging a bloody war in Ukraine for more than a year, the BBC writes.
Unilever’s justification follows information that
the company adds 579 million pounds to the Russian economy every year.
The Moral Rating Agency has accused the company of supporting Russian aggression, and its founder Mark Dixon has said Unilever needs to face the truth and understand that ice cream allows Putin to pay for bullets.
Many Western companies, from Apple to the jeans manufacturer Levi’s, left the Russian market after the start of the war.
However,
some companies continue to manufacture and trade in Russia, such as the US consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble,
which has reported reduced operations.
Unilever has informed that it has stopped exporting to and importing from Russia, and only essential goods such as food and hygiene products are being sold in Russia.
Speaking to the BBC, Unilever referred to a statement in February: “We understand why there are calls for Unilever to leave Russia. We also want to be clear that we are not trying to protect or manage our business in Russia. However, for companies like Unilever, which have a significant physical presence in the country, exiting is not straightforward.”
The company employs about three thousand people in Russia and said that if it were to leave Russia, the brands would be taken over and manufactured by the country. Unilever has not managed to find a way to leave Russia so that the company’s employees do not suffer and the country does not benefit from the departure. A perfect option is not possible, and
at the moment the best way allegedly is to continue with “strict constraits”.
In early July, Shell also received criticism for its trade in Russian gas, a year after it promised to leave the Russian energy market. The oil giant has stated that the transactions are related to long-term contracts and do not violate the terms of the sanctions.