SodaStream changes labels to ‘Made in West Bank,’ in Oregon

Israeli manufacturer SodaStream changes its labeling to “Made in the West Bank,” following complaints by human rights activists in the Unites States, Haaretz reports.

The company, a producer of a highly-successful device for carbonating water in the home, holds its main production facility in the industrial zone of Ma’aleh Adumim, a small town beyond the Green Line.

Many of the SodaStream factory workers are Palestinians. US actress Scarlett Johansson, who identifies as Jewish, has in the past come under fire for representing the company.

Johansson stepped down as a spokeswoman for Oxfam after the incident, standing by her endorsement of the successful Israeli firm.

According to Haaretz, in May 2014 a coalition of human rights activists in Oregon complained to the Oregon Department of Justice that the company was violating the state’s Fair Trade Practices Act by labeling its products as “Made in Israel.”

The company changed its labeling in the state to “Made in the West Bank” for SodaStream boxes sold in Oregon. It was not clear whether the company changed its labeling elsewhere.

SodaStream is in the process of moving its facilities to Kiryat Gat, in the south of Israel. While this decision will boost employment in the south, it will – perhaps ironically – bring an end to the employment of the Palestinian workers at the Ma’aleh Adumim factory, who enjoy better salaries and conditions than their brethren working in the PA.