Most cocoa beans are grown in West Africa; Seventy per cent. Two countries, Ghana and the Ivory produce Sixty Per Cent of the total.
Despite the fact they earn a about $73 billion dollars from the trade, they don’t compare to the chocolate company, Nestlé’s, which has over $100 billion in sales.
Most of the beans bought by Nestle, and the other companies are grown, picked, packed by child slavery.
This face has attracted the attention of the world.
There were protests, marches, petitions, boycotts, and after all the excitement, a treaty was written and the big chocolate makers agreed to eradicate the worst forms of child slavery (defined by the International Labor Organization’s Convention No. 182, by July 1, 2005).
Demanding time, they had the deadline to implement this treaty to 2008. Then, to 2010. It has yet been extended again… to 2020!
Besides actual slavery it is now become more usual for children are used as free labour by their own families.
However, that the big companies use them, profit from them has become the focus. The bad press has had its effect, to some extent.
Nestlé has very publicly created a Cocoa Plan, Hershey has its 21st-Century Plan.
Banding together in the World Cocoa Foundation, 10 of the largest chocolate companies formed CocoaAction, which is supposed to assist the farmers and help them boost productivity without children.
Just as the ‘Treaty’, this ‘Plan’ is not happening.
As of today, there are 2.1 million children enslaved in the chocolate industry. This is 21% increase over the 1.75 million identified five years ago.
Some private citizens have taken the matter into their own hands and filed law suits against the Top Three chocolate companies; Hershey, Mars, and Nestlé, stating they would not have purchased the chocolate if they knew it was grown by child labour/slavery.
While cases bobble around the court and treaties are made, a lot of people have decided not to buy slave chocolate. The companies, Hershey, Mars, Nestle, ADM Cocoa, Godiva, Fowler’s Chocolate and Kraft were named in last year’s Halloween warning of Slave Chocolate.
Companies that didn’t use child labour in 2004 were Clif Bar, Green and Black’s, Koppers Chocolate, L.A. Burdick Chocolates, Denman Island Chocolate, Gardners Candie, Cloud Nine, Montezuma’s Chocolates, Newman’s Own Organics, Kailua Candy Company,Omanhene Cocoa Bean Company, Rapunzel Pure Organics, and The Endangered Species Chocolate Company
Green & Black was an excellent company. It was ‘Green’ because it was organic, and it was ‘Black’, meaning Slavery free.
Then…
“I regret selling Green & Blacks to Cadbury. It was a mistake. A great shame. I can say that now that Cadbury has pretty much disappeared, bought out by Kraft and now Mondalez.” said Mr William Kendall, who was in charge of Green & Black.
Cadbury was the number one user of slave chocolate. In 2005 it purchased Green & Black. This was a great way out for them. Then Cadbury itself was sold to Kraft, which as late as 2015 was listed as a company that used child labour.
Then is was sold to another company which produces Toblerone… and who know what kind of labour was used?
When buying chocolate, unless one lives where cocoa is grown one doesn’t know where it comes from.
In the Caribbean we grow the beans. We use them. Any chocolate we have on the shelves which isn’t Hersey or Mars or Nestle is probably coming from Trinidad or Santo Domingo.
We used to have our own brand, Highgate, but that was sold, and it hasn’t been seen since.
The tragedy is that the outcry against slave chocolate has quieted because of the mere words the companies using slaves has offered.
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Child slavery is a big NO. However, these children were being forced to work. The main reason is poverty. The government should uplift the marginalized people from poverty. It has been many years that the problem exists and slavery is not the answer for gaining profit.
The point is, most people don't know where that the cocoa beans came from, how they were harvested...and if slaves produced the chocolate in their Hershey Bar
it is a pity and sad to know that child slavery still exist in this modern world, so does this mean that we have to boycott chocolates?
You have to try to avoid slave chocolate and buy that which is grown under proper conditions.
It is tragic. The tragedy being I had to read this in a blog post here. I listen to business news reports and don't recall this matter being reported LOUDLY!!! So what you're saying is if we could all resist the temptation to enjoy chocolate for a greater cause, we might put a stop to child slavery, because we would put the companies out of business. However? What do organizations like the United Nations do? Not pointing a finger but there are many of these types of organizations set up with a mission to protect the rights of children all around the world. Shouldn't an issue like this fall under the scope of their commitments to the greater good? Though you mention the companies promised to do something but broke their promises or postponed them, couldn't outside organizations put pressure on them and shame them into doing the right thing?
Of course there were protests, maybe CNN didn't publish them, but there was one massive one in Switzerland. You can do a search and see that Green & Black was doing really well, and Cadbury bought the company to clean it's own slate then sold itself to another company.
It goes back to a discussion about what is in the news and what is not, and how propaganda works. These chocolate companies have a hell of a lobby group and sponsor a lot of things, so this news is shovelled under the carpet.
This article was written for a PG audience. There are horrendous stories of kidnapping, beatings, even murders in Cote d'Ivoire.
The AntiSlavery Society which was created in the 1800s is still active. There is still slavery in the world.