Feasibility of Slave-Free Chocolate: An Analysis of Ethical Practices

This report delves into the pervasive issue of child labor within the chocolate industry, particularly in West African countries like Ivory Coast and Ghana, which supply a significant portion of the world's cocoa. It highlights how major chocolate companies, including Nestle, have been implicated in benefiting from this unethical practice. The report also addresses the economic disparities faced by African cocoa farmers, who earn disproportionately little compared to the substantial profits generated by the chocolate industry, leading to deforestation and other environmental issues. Initiatives by companies like Mars and Barry Callebaut, along with governmental efforts to set premium prices for cocoa, are discussed as potential solutions. The report further examines Tony's Chocolonely, a Dutch company known for its commitment to fair trade practices and ethical chocolate production. It emphasizes the importance of consumer awareness and support for companies that prioritize ethical sourcing to combat child slavery in the chocolate industry, suggesting actions such as stricter government regulations, increased fines for companies using child labor, and awareness campaigns to promote ethical consumption.

Running head: POSSIBILITY OF SLAVE FREE CHOCOALTE
POSSIBILITY OF SLAVE FREE CHOCOALTE
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1POSSIBILITY OF SLAVE FREE CHOCOALTE
1. IS YOUR CHOCOLATE MADE BY SLAVES
Child labor is basically the exploitation of the children from any type of work which deprives
the children from their childhood and interferes with the ability of the children to attend
schools and also which is physically, socially, morally or mentally harmful.
According to reports, majority of the child labor is found in the West African countries
especially Ivory Coast and Ghana who are the highest supplier of cocoa all across the world
(Active History., 2010)
According to reports, major companies like Nestle have been found guilty of using child
labor in their business however, every level of the company like the middle men, the
employees in the managerial position have benefited from the use of child labor in their
company.
2. BIG PROMISES
Big companies are very powerful of which they take full advantage. In the chocolate
business, it has been seen that major companies that produce chocolates use child labor which
is highly unethical and also violates the human rights laws which is one of the biggest crimes.
These companies also violate several labor laws as they do not provide the necessary
amenities and make children work in poor conditions where their safety is at risk.
After big companies like Hersheys, Nestle, Mars are found guilty of using child labor, they
do not take strict actions against curbing these issues. The middle men in the companies
misuse the children in various different ways as well like child trafficking which is a huge
crime (The Washington Post., 2019).

2POSSIBILITY OF SLAVE FREE CHOCOALTE
3. THE AFRICAN FARMERS TAKING ON BIG CHOCOLATE
The chocolate industry is a well-established and a flourishing industry which generates
around $100 billion annually however the West African countries generate only $2billion
annually. Ghana and Ivory Coast are the major suppliers of cocoa which is the main
ingredient which is required by the chocolate industries but the amount they earn from this
industry is very less which has resulted in the African farmers living in below poverty line
and in poor conditions which has become a huge concern. The President of Ghana, Nana
Akufo-Addo has stated that the country has a colonial style relationship with the chocolate
industry and has identified this as a problem which has been contributing to social issues in
the country (Ft.com.., 2019).
The demand of cocoa has made many farmers resort to deforestation in order to grow cocoa
which has contributed to the cropping of environmental issues. The rate of poverty among
these farmers and their poor conditions has made Ghana and Ivory Coast together make a
decision of fixing premium of $400 per tonne over benchmark future prices in the year 2020
from October.
Major companies like Mars are coming up with initiatives which will help in mitigating these
issues. Mars committed to spend around $1bn for 10 years for the programme that they have
introduced “Cocoa for Generations”. Even Barry Callebaut had launched an initiative named
“Forever Chocolate” which aimed at lifting poverty and also reduce the use of child labor to
contribute to the well-being of the environment. These have positive impacts and it can be
seen that the farmers and the government together are uniting to take on the big chocolate
companies (Ft.com.., 2019).
4. TONY'SCHOCOLONELY

3POSSIBILITY OF SLAVE FREE CHOCOALTE
Tony’s Chocolonely is basically a Dutch confectionary company which has become famous
for emphasizing on producing and the selling chocolates by complying with practices which
are fair trade. They are considered to be the only company in the chocolate industry who has
been operating ethically.
The video shows the interview of the victims of child labor where they narrate about their
traumatic experiences where they have worked, they have stated that they were tortured,
isolated where they did not have any access to contact their family, were deprived of basic
amenities and have also worked in poor and unsafe conditions which was detrimental for
their health (YouTube.com., 2015). One of the major companies that produces chocolate have
been mentioned in the video which is Nestle who have been accused of this unethical practice
and exploitation of children.
In recent times, most of the customers want to associate themselves with companies who
operate ethically and make sure that they do not contribute to the rise of social, environmental
and other issues which have a negative impact on the society and thus it is important for
people to ban purchasing chocolate of those companies who use child labor in order to
mitigate the issue.
Tony’s Chocolonely is the company who has been addressing this issue and have been strict
in terms of their rules and regulations of using child labor thus awareness needs to be spread
to promote this brand to ensure the issue is reduced and slowly mitigated.
5. List 3 actions you can do to help make awareness of child slavery in
the chocolate industry.
Three actions that will help in spreading awareness of child slavery in the chocolate industry
are the following:

4POSSIBILITY OF SLAVE FREE CHOCOALTE
 Strict laws imposed by the government against companies using child labor
 Huge amount of finefor using child labor
 Campaigns to spread awareness.

5POSSIBILITY OF SLAVE FREE CHOCOALTE
Reference
Active History. (2010). “When People Eat Chocolate, They Are Eating My Flesh”: Slavery
and the Dark Side of Chocolate. Retrieved 18 March 2020, from
http://activehistory.ca/2010/06/%E2%80%9Cwhen-people-eat-chocolate-they-are-eating-my-
flesh%E2%80%9D-slavery-and-the-dark-side-of-chocolate/
Ft.com. (2019). The African farmers taking on big chocolate. Retrieved 19 March 2020, from
https://www.ft.com/content/648bd044-1ab3-11ea-97df-cc63de1d73f4
Niggl, J. (2016). Is Your Chocolate Made by Child Slaves?. Retrieved 18 March 2020, from
https://www.intouch-quality.com/blog/is-your-chocolate-made-by-child-slaves
The Washington Post. (2019). Cocoa's child laborers. Retrieved 19 March 2020, from
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/business/hershey-nestle-mars-
chocolate-child-labor-west-africa/
YouTube.com. (2015). Tony's Chocolonely - the story of an unusual chocolate bar. Retrieved
19 March 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?
time_continue=14&v=nqG4N27UHNk&feature=emb_title