Issues

Child Labour & Chocolate

About 70% of the cocoa beans used to make chocolate around the world come from West Africa. Over the last 10 years, the international media has begun to expose the use of child labour on cocoa farms in this area. The Ivory Coast has an estimated 300,000 children working in dangerous conditions; more than half are under 14 years old, with work including spraying pesticides, using machetes and carrying heavy loads. They have no access to education or health care. Physical abuse is also common.
The three large multinational chocolate producers — Nestle, Mars and Cadbury — have committed to the Harkin-Engel Protocol which was meant to eliminate child labour, but in reality consumers today have no more assurance than they did eight years ago that their chocolate is slave free.

• Look for products with the certified Fairtrade symbol. See the 'Good Chocolate Guide' at www.stopthetraffik.org/chocolatedownloads/chocolate_guide_aus.pdf
• Find out more about the human cost of Chocolate at www.stopthetraffik.org
• Put pressure on the chocolate industry to end child labour: sign the petition at www.donttradelives.com.au