2025 is the year of the boycott. While this form of political protest has been an effective tool for many decades now, it does feel as though boycotting is at an all time high—and for good reason. Brands and companies are now facing greater accountability for their actions than ever before. From Sephora and McDonald’s to BrewDog and Doritos, no brand is off limits. The biggest target of all? Coca-Cola.

Coca-Cola has never shied away from controversy. In fact, since its inception in 1886, it’s been at the centre of numerous scandals, ranging from ethical concerns to threat and murder conspiracies. And while recent headlines have focused on social media-driven boycotts from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, or BDS movement as it’s often referred to online, there are a number of other problematic moments in the company’s history that need to be explored.

So, without further ado, let me break down some of the biggest and most significant boycotts Coca Cola has faced over the past 150 years.

Do the right thing
Boycott Coca-Cola pic.twitter.com/zkJVrEWV3P

— Motherland (@Motherl28134473) March 30, 2025

@ladypyjamas6

This analysis was published by non-profit group Oceana.

♬ Part of Your World - From "The Little Mermaid 2023" - MilkyyMelodies

Unsurprisingly, Coca-Cola has faced a ton of backlash over the years for its increasingly negative environmental impact. In 2023, Greenpeace reported that the multinational corporation was the worst plastic polluter in the world for the sixth year in a row.

Specifically, the pressure group has criticised the conglomerate’s refusal to move away from single-use plastics—alongside its close connection to fossil fuels. The polluter sells more than 100 billion single-use plastic bottles each year with many ending up in landfills and the ocean.

@lesswastelaura

Coca Cola has the opportunity to radicalise its business and move away from ALL plastic…instead they design a cap that is attached…which is hardly going to help the problem… ❌

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In March 2025, the shocking news dropped that by 2030, Coca-Cola products will account for an estimated 602 million kilograms of plastic waste entering the world’s oceans and waterways each year. This information came from a global report conducted by Oceana, a nonprofit ocean conservation organisation.

One of the biggest boycotts Coca-Cola faced in the early 2000s stemmed from an incredibly dark and violent scandal involving Colombian workers. In 2003, The Guardian reported that trade unions across the globe had launched a boycott against the drinks company following allegations that Coca-Cola’s locally owned bottlers in Colombia used illegal paramilitary groups to intimidate, threaten and kill its workers.

The publication went on to explain how union workers have claimed that, over the course of 13 years, Coca-Cola bottlers have hired far-right militias of the United Self Defence Forces of Colombia (AUC) to murder nine union members at bottling plants in Colombia. A legal case was launched against the company, led by Colombian trade union Sinaltrainal.

“A lawsuit against Coca-Cola and its Colombian bottlers was filed in 2001 in a Miami federal court, charging that the company had collaborated with the paramilitaries to threaten and assassinate union organizers.

Under the Alien Tort Claims Act, a US company can be sued in …” https://t.co/Qqrhdnuq0A pic.twitter.com/jru7b1PL8t

— Mis Leading (@FaatiTheStreet) March 12, 2024

People acting surprised that Boeing killed a whistleblower but I remember when Coca Cola was regularly assassinating people in South America

— good politics haver (@Josh4Real) March 12, 2024

Coca-Cola released a statement categorically denying all accusations, noting that the campaign was “nothing more than a shameless effort to generate publicity.”

The case was later dismissed by the courts, citing a lack of evidence to link the actions of the paramilitaries to the Colombian government and Coca-Cola. However, Sinaltrainal still went on to launch a website called Killer Coke in hopes of keeping the boycott alive.

A more recent boycott of Coca-Cola was led by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement in relation to the company’s involvement in the war in Gaza. Coca-Cola currently operates on illegal Israeli settlements built on occupied land.

@friendsofalaqsa

FOA in Wembley, boycotting Coca Cola🇵🇸 #fyp #foryou #handsoffalaqsa #freepalestine #freepalestine🇵🇸❤️ #gaza #boycott #boycottcoke #wembley

♬ original sound - Friends of Al-Aqsa 🇵🇸

@lucas.febraro

Boycott @Coca-Cola

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The official boycott of Coca-Cola by BDS, which kickstarted in November 2024, gained further traction when videos and images of Israeli Defence Force (IDF) soldiers holding Coke cans began circulating online. 

One interesting development from this boycott has been the invention of Gaza Cola, a product created by Palestinian activist Osama Qashoo. Speaking with The Guardian, the founder explained that he launched the drink with hopes to use all of the profit to rebuild al-Karama hospital, a medical facility that used to stand in northern Gaza.

As the Gaza-inspired boycotts of Coca-Cola and others continue, new and existing brands are emerging to fill the void. Among the ones I’ve spotted recently: Jordan’s Matrix, Saudi’s Kinza, and a Sweden-based brand called Palestine Drinks.

The latest, from the U.K., is Cola Gaza. pic.twitter.com/wH3zdYvfxp

— Yasmeen Serhan (@YasmeenSerhan) August 23, 2024

In February 2025, Coca-Cola started facing massive backlash online after reports began circulating that the company had begun laying off Latino staff and reporting them to Immigration and Customs Enforcements agents (ICE).

According to The Independent, the “Latino Freeze Movement” is a retaliatory boycott movement against Donald Trump’s aggressive, ruthless, and at times illegal, attitude towards immigration. It prompts members of the public to boycott and shun American corporations that have ties to the Trump administration or have recently rolled back their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs in the wake of Trump’s return to office.

@shinigamimtz

Latinos boicotean a Coca Cola #LatinoFreezeMovement #trump

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Allegedly, this Coca-Cola boycott began gaining traction after rumours began circulating on social media claiming that not only had the drinks giant fired Latino employees from a Texas bottling plant, but it was also reporting them to ICE. However, no such evidence has been verified.

Boycott movements are powerful, and have proven to be an invaluable tool for people who feel as though traditional methods of political protest have failed them. Coca-Cola better watch its back because I can’t imagine netizens are going to take their feet off the pedal anytime soon.