Global Solutions

Modern Slavery and child labor?? What are the states doing??

The Harkin-Engel Protocol in 2001 effectively let Big Choco handle eradicating child labor in their supply lines, without US government interference. Meanwhile the Ivorian government has been passing but under-enforcing more legislations.

Tell me more about State Efforts!

IN THE US:

Under pressure from the public and the government, the Harkin-Engel Deal in 2001 withdrew US legislations to discern and label chocolate that meet certain standards as "slave free". That is, under the condition that chocolate companies would handle eradicating child labor in their supply lines and certify their products as such themselves.

Recently, both the public and the Supreme Court have been revisiting the idea of holding corporations responsible for indirect violations not on US soil. Learn more about the court case here.

IN WEST AFRICA:

It wasn't until 2019 did Ivory Coast make moderate progress in efforts to combat child labor. The State passed laws defining and prohibiting child labor, including specifying an age range (5-16yrs), worst forms of child labor, and other conventions following international standards concerning the rights of a child. Under these laws, children:

must be 16 or older to work
must be 18 or older to participate in "hazardous work"
cannot be used for forced labor, trafficking, sexual exploitation, or other "illicit activities"
cannot be recruited into the military
are to be given free public education by the age of 16

Regulations were also implemented to better enforce the new laws, as well as allocate more funding. The Ministry of Employment and Social Protection (MEPS) develops and enforces these laws, providing support for victims of child trafficking/labor and installing a child labor monitoring system known as Système d'Observation et de Suivi du Travail des Enfants en Côte d'Ivoire (SOSTECI). Under MEPS' authority, people violating the new laws or parents not sending their children to school can be fined or arrested. Read the full report here.

The problems with child labor are clear,

so what have chocolate companies been actually doing?

Nestle's logo

NESTLE

Products: Toll House, KitKat (outside US)

Action: Helped develop the Child Labor Monitoring and Remediation System (CLMRS)

Tell me more! >>

According to Nestle, 80% of their cocoa have been traced to and certified in Ivory Coast, Africa. But certifying isn't enough, so Nestle also implemented a plan to help train farmers for more efficient farms. They held field schools for skilled local labor to increase income and even offered education to women and children in needy communities.

Together with the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI), Nestle has supported over 1600 children in Ghana at risk of/participating in child labor. Upon identifying them, the children are sent to school or even given apprenticeship programs to learn a trade they're interested in.

Learn more about Nestle's efforts here

MARS

Products: M&M's, Snickers, Twix, Skittles, Dove

Action: Mars's Cocoa for Generation plan, developing farms and financially empowering women in communities to reduce the need for child labor.

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Supporting Enterprise with Farm Development plans: Mars' science research team and the World Agroforestry Institute (ICRAF) aim to collaborate with farms to improve productivity. Using a variety of methods, Mars has gotten farmers to grow more cocoa on less land, increasing farmer income.

Creating Farmer Advice Networks: Mars implemented system where farmers offer other farmers give inputs/advice to help cocoa growers improve health of farms.100 farmers are trained annually in Mars' Cocoa Academy, with up to 20000 trained farmers in 2018.

Other plans implemented include collaborating with CARE to financially empower women in cocoa communities, giving them the means to support their family without resorting to child labor. Learn more of their plans here.

HERSHEY

Products: Hershey's, Reese's, Mr. Goodbar

Action: Hershey's Cocoa for Good plan, investing millions into existing programs to improve farms and crack down on cases of child labor.

Tell me more >>

Rather than creating their own programs, Hershey has spent their efforts investing in existing ones. They introduced the CLMRS into their supply lines, reviewing 69,000 children and offering support programs to the 4600 kids found doing inappropriate labor. Hershey has also provided tools such as wheelbarrows or stoves to lessen the work that farmers have to do.

"By improving the farmer’s ease and efficiency of completing tasks around the farm, the need for children to lend a hand with more hazardous tasks is reduced"

Learn more about Hershey's plan here

Looks good right? But there are big issues:

"Certified" cocoa is hardly enforced with only 1/10 farms actually inspected (source)
Company efforts support far too few communities, with the majority of child laborers continuing to work in cocoa farms (source and company websites)

In that case, what are other organizations doing?

FAIRTRADE

What is it?

"Fair trade is a global movement … putting people and planet first". Products with the Fairtrade certified seal indicate that their production meets all ethical standards, and pay farmers 10% more for their cocoa. Rainforest Alliance and UTZ offer similar certifications, reviewing land-use practices sustainable farming.

"Fairtrade isn't a perfect solution"

~Bryan Lew, chief operating officer for Fairtrade America

Learn more here

Is it reliable?

Fairtrade is effective at educating customers with its popular certification; Fairtrade is often the standard for ethics in most companies, and has paid over $750M to producers worldwide. Unfortunately, while many organizations use Fairtrade's system, it lacks the enforcement to inspect most farms.

TONY'S CHOCOLONELY

What is it?

Similar to Fairtrade, Tony's pays farmers more for their cocoa. Tony's, however, pays up to 40% more than typical buyers while charging less than 10% more to the cost of an average chocolate bar. They also spend extensive effort enforcing their policies of zero child labor, working hard to change chocolate as a whole.

"Tony’s mission is together we make 100% slave free the norm in chocolate"

Learn more here

Is it reliable?

No policy is perfect, but Tony's is putting more effort than most in the chocolate industry. Their cocoa is 100% traceable to farms and a portion of their profits go towards donations. The downside of Tony's is that it has a small presence in the chocolate industry, meaning no significant change can currently be made.

... And many more!

You can follow the organizations below to learn even more about Big Choco and your role in it

INTERNATIONAL COCOA INITIATIVE

As the organization founded to coordinate chocolate companies' efforts against child labor, the ICI played the main role along with Nestle in establishing the Child Labor Monitoring and Remediation System. Most chocolate companies have implemented this system in their supply lines, and is the predominant method of detecting child labor.

Within the CLMRS, the ICI has trained staff to make sure the supply chain can detect and report child labor. A similar training was given to locals, creating a system where farmers would check on other farmers. Should child labor be detected, farmers are encouraged to report the finding and assist the children in any way possible.

SLAVE FREE CHOCOLATE COALITION

Since 2007, the Slave Free Chocolate Coalition (SFC) has been focusing on bringing awareness to the then little-known concern of child labor in chocolate. The SFC primarily uses social media to spread awareness with the collaboration of artists, and even offers lesson plans for high school teachers. Providing all the information a consumer needs to know about their chocolate, including which companies are the best at keeping their candy slave free, SFC aims to educate and sway social opinion on ethical chocolate in order to progress.

Learn more about their mission here

100 WEEKS

"We connect people who care, with women living in extreme poverty, offering them temporary cash support and financial training in small peer groups".

100 Weeks is an organization that directly connects donors with women in need. Selected women are given free mobile phones, and the donor's money is transferred directly to them without a middle man. The women are also given financial training, and the donor can rest at ease knowing their money wasn't taken by some evil middle man.