Nespresso coffee that is advertised by none other than George Clooney has been accused of using child labourers for picking its coffee, an investigation has found.

The Hollywood actor - who has reportedly earned £31million to be the face of the brand - has promised that "work will be done" after he heard what the probe found.

Clooney was left "surprised and saddened" after hearing that youngsters were filmed working gruelling eight-hour days on plantations for less than £5.

Channel 4 's Dispatches initiated the investigation, and found children working up to six-day weeks picking beans and shifting heavy loads to weighing areas in Guatemala.

The Hollywood actor has reportedly earned £31million to be the face of the brand (
Image:
nestle)

Nespresso does not publicly list its supplier farms, however Dispatches said it found information about suppliers in Guatemala in which the probe took place.

Guatemala is the world's tenth largest coffee producer - and reporters insist they were given access to farms in remote areas which enabled them to see kids labour take place in all of them.

Nespresso has since said it will stop buying coffee from farms in some parts of the country.

Clooney, who joined Nespresso's Sustainability Advisory Board in 2013, said: "I was surprised and saddened to see this story. Clearly this board and this company still have work to do. And that work will be done.

"Having grown up working on a tobacco farm from the time I was 12 I'm uniquely aware of the complex issues regarding farming and child labour."

The actor revealed he worked on his grandparents' tobacco farm in the state of Kentucky during summers.

George Clooney said he was left saddened after finding out the news (
Image:
WireImage)

He hoped Dispatches reporter Anthony Barnett, who revealed the evidence "will continue to investigate these conditions and report accurately if they do not improve".

Clooney, who is a political and social activist alongside his wife Amal, added: "The check and balance of good corporate responsibility lies not just with the company itself but also independent journalists like Mr Barnett to hold everyone's promise to account."

Nespresso chief executive Guillaume Le Cunff said in a statement: "Nespresso has zero tolerance of child labour. It is unacceptable. Where there are claims that our high standards are not met, we act immediately. In this case, we were informed by a UK media outlet that they had identified instances of child labor on six farms in a region of Guatemala.

"The media outlet refused to provide us with the details of the farms so that we could confirm whether they supplied Nespresso and immediately address these allegations. However, we have launched a thorough investigation and taken a number of actions.

"First and foremost, we have immediately stopped purchases of coffee from all farms in the region and we will not resume purchases until we are able to investigate and be assured that child labour is not being used."

George is a political and social activist alongside his wife Amal (
Image:
Getty Images for Hulu)

The statement continues: "Through the investigation, any issues we uncover will be dealt with diligently and firm action will be taken.

"We will also double the number of agronomists that we have on the ground in the region and we will implement unannounced visits to check on compliance on social and labour issues.

"All of these actions are on top of our ongoing direct work with farmers and partners in the region and around the world.

"We work with Rainforest Alliance and Fairtrade International to reinforce good working practices and fair treatment of workers, including education on the risks of child labour.

"In fact, all of the farms in the cooperatives in this region of Guatemala are Rainforest Alliance and Fairtrade certified."

The statement adds: "We invest heavily in this effort; in 2019, our 400 agronomists made over 170,000 farm visits and trainings across the world, including 60,000 detailed on farm sustainability assessments.

"This was backed up by more than 3,300 third party verification farm audits. We will continue to do all we can to stamp child labour out. It has no place in our supply chain.

"We are extremely concerned by the allegations made and take them very seriously. We are making significant efforts to address child labor and protect the children in the coffee farming communities we work with, and we will continue to do so."

*Dispatches is on Monday at 8pm on Channel 4.