Source: Gift Ideas Place
I’m about to do another fair trade chocolate event for Valentine’s day and wanted to share with you all an indispensable resource I used last year. It’s is a table of various chocolate bars/companies that lists whether the chocolates are organic and/or fair trade, and where you can buy them. I used it to find local chocolatiers who were able to sponsor my chocolate tasting event/fundraiser, and I raised money to help ILRF end child trafficking and slavery in the Ivory Coast. If you find a company you like, do try to double-check that they still make the product in the list—I was informed, for example, that Dagoba is now owned by Hershey, one of the most notorious companies that hasn’t done anything to ensure their chocolate isn’t made with child or slave labor.
You can find the list under my Where to find Ethical Goods page and here. You can also learn more about child trafficking in the cocoa industry at those links. If you have suggestions for what kinds of products I should add to my Ethical Goods list, please let me know.
Source: International Labor Rights Forum
Nice! Before the vegan-mindset took chocolate away I used to buy Tony’s Chocolonely which is yummie and apparently slave-free. I must say that I found it quite appealing when I first read it. I think it’s time though that we ask all companies to go slave-free, right? If we would just all agree that it’s what we want … but then again, who would not agree on slave-free chocolate?
How did a “vegan-mindset” take chocolate away? Unless it has milk in it, chocolate is a vegan food.
Companies don’t go slave-free because it’s cheaper and they have no incentive (for the most part). Cocoa is cheaper if the workers don’t get paid (or are paid a pittance), and if consumers continue to buy slave chocolate, why would they stop making it? The fair trade/ethical trade movement for coffee raised awareness among consumers, so lots of coffee drinkers put pressure on companies to offer an ethical alternative to conventional coffee. Same with organic products. Once consumers use their voices let companies know what they want (and boycotts to let them know what they don’t want), they’ll start to listen. Except Hershey’s…
Reblogged this on News on Modern Day Slavery and commented:
My top pic for slave-free cocoa products is Divine Chocolate!
I haven’t had their chocolate yet, but it looks yummy!
Thanks for the info on child labourers in the cocoa industry. I’ll pass it on to my friends and be careful where I buy my chocolate.
I’m glad you found it useful, and thanks for spreading the word