How much chocolate do you eat a week?

The truth behind your tasty treats

Over 67% of the world’s cocoa crop comes from West Africa.  The Ivory Coast alone holds 43% of the world market.  It’s highly likely that your favorite chocolate bar comes from here.  Thousands of children, from within the Ivory Coast and neighboring countries, pick and harvest these beans.  Many of these children have been trafficked. They have been sold into slavery.  They have had their freedom taken away from them and are forced to work long hours on the cocoa plantations without receiving any money for their work.

In 2001 the ICI (International Cocoa Initiative) was set up as part of the Harkin–Engel Protocol to combat trafficking in the chocolate industry.  Although small scale community projects have been set up, the ICI actually promised to eradicate the worst forms of child labor including trafficking, by 2005.

They missed the deadline.

They then extended the deadline to 2008.

We are still waiting for the chocolate industry to guarantee that the chocolate they sell is “Traffik Free”.

Please download the letter the sample letter to Hershey and send a personalized version. It’s time for the chocolate companies to guarantee us slave free chocolate.

This Saturday is World Day Against Child Labor.

For years, chocolate companies have known about abusive child labor in the cocoa industry in West Africa. As a result of the constant pressure, some chocolate companies have agreed to stronger labor and environmental standards in the production of the cocoa they use.

But one iconic US brand is lagging behind - and they need to hear from YOU today!

Please join thousands of people across the country in calling Hershey today (before 4PM ET) to ask them to start buying certified cocoa. If you’re unable to get through to a company representative today, feel free to try again on Friday, or until you get through!

Suggestions on how to make the call and what to say:

Hi, my name is ___ and I’m calling from ____ (City, State). 

This Saturday is World Day Against Child Labor.  As a Hershey consumer, I’m very concerned about the continued use of child labor, forced labor and trafficking in West Africa’s cocoa industry. 

I want to know that all the workers who had a hand in making my chocolate - from bean to bar - were treated fairly. I would like Hershey to take this opportunity to be more transparent about your supply chain.

- Consumer Hotline: 1-800-468-1714 (Monday -Friday 9am to 4pm ET)

  Dial “0” (you may need to push Zero three times to get to an operator. Press 2 if you do not want to participate in survey.)

- Back-up number is 717-534-4200.

BACKGROUND

Why Hershey?
• For years, major chocolate companies have known that the worst forms of child labor and trafficked labor are used in the production of the cocoa beans they purchase from West Africa, particularly Cote d’Ivoire. Many companies use third-party certification programs in order to ensure that certain labor and environmental standards are met in the production of the cocoa they use in their chocolate. There are a number of certification programs related to cocoa production and many of them involve labels that communicate to consumers what standards were used in the production of the cocoa they are about to enjoy.

• Last March, Cadbury announced that it would achieve Fair Trade certification for its Dairy Milk bar (the top selling chocolate bar in the UK) in England and Ireland by the end of this summer, with plans to expand Fair Trade cocoa further in their product line.

• Major chocolate companies like Mars, Cargill, Heinz, Kraft and Starbucks have all agreed to various certification programs for their cocoa. While some of these programs do include labor rights standards, they are not as strong and comprehensive as they need to be to ensure workers’ rights are protected. They also do not address the problem of the low prices paid to cocoa farmers for their beans – a critical component of why child labor persists in this sector.

• Fair Trade certification ensures that farmers are both able to meet the basic needs of their families and to continue to grow cocoa in the future by offering a fair price for cocoa. Fair Trade provides a path for farmers to increase their livelihoods and improve labor and environmental conditions in cocoa production. Fair Trade also has additional benefits like encouraging the development of democratic cooperatives where farmers have a greater voice in the market.

• On the other hand, Hershey has not agreed to any third-party certification programs for their cocoa supply. Additionally, Hershey owns the license to produce Cadbury products in the US. Hershey is well placed to be a leader in Fair Trade cocoa sourcing for US consumers, but they need to know that we want our chocolate to be Fair Trade certified!

Things we’ve heard from Hershey before

• We already have Fair Trade certified cocoa in Dagoba.

o Hershey owns a smaller chocolate company called Dagoba. Dagoba has a range of chocolate products and some of these products are made using Fair Trade certified cocoa – for example, the Conacado and Milagros chocolate bars. However, the rest of both Hersheys’ and Dagobas’ product lines are not Fair Trade certified. Regardless of whether Dagoba has one certified bar, Hershey needs to have in place a strong system for ensuring that all of their cocoa for all of their products is produced by farmers who can support their families and that violations of international labor rights standards are not occurring in their supply chains.

• Fair Trade is a niche market.

o Fair Trade is about making sure that cocoa farmers can support their families, institute strong labor and environmental standards and continue to make a living growing cocoa. Far from just a niche in the market, Fair Trade is much closer to how business should operate across the board. More and more consumers are demanding this type of trading relationship from the companies they support. Fair Trade continues to grow despite the economic downturn. As Cadbury’s recent commitments show, Fair Trade certified cocoa makes sense even for the most popular chocolate products.

• Hershey is addressing child labor through the Harkin-Engel Protocol and programs funded through the World Cocoa Foundation and International Cocoa Initiative.

o The process initiated through the Harkin-Engel Protocol does not include a set of standards to be applied to cocoa production. It has not eliminated the worst forms of child labor or trafficked labor. Reports by a research team contracted by the US Department of Labor to investigate the implementation of the Harkin-Engel Protocol have labeled the “certification” program established by the Protocol a “misnomer” and have detailed the continued use of the worst forms of child labor, especially in Cote d’Ivoire. Both this process as well as programs funded through the World Cocoa Foundation and International Cocoa Initiative are not a replacement for taking responsibility for a company’s cocoa supply and instituting labor and environmental standards through a third-party system. Consumers need to know that a strong process is in place to protect workers and the environment. Fair Trade certification is an important step in that direction. For more information, please see ILRF’s most recent cocoa report here.

• Fair Trade does not guarantee that child labor is not used.

o No certification system can provide a 100% guarantee, but the elements of Fair Trade standards work together to lead to improvement in farmers’ lives and reductions in labor rights abuses like the worst forms of child labor. Fair Trade standards prohibit the worst forms of child labor and forced labor and include a monitoring system. The additional components such as the price premium and the democratic cooperative structure also help to contribute to higher labor standards on Fair Trade certified farms. The increased transparency in Fair Trade supply chains helps companies to develop closer relationships with farmers and to work with them on improving living and working conditions. Fair Trade cooperatives are inspected annually.

• It is impossible to monitor our cocoa supply chain.

o Major chocolate companies and competitors of Hershey like Mars, Kraft and Cadbury have all agreed to certification programs that include labor standards and are transparent at least to the cooperative level. These companies are showing that it is indeed possible to track and monitor a large company’s cocoa supply chain. Smaller companies like Divine Chocolate, Equal Exchange and Sweet Earth Organic Chocolates have been practicing a higher standard of transparency and partnership with farmers for years.