Comments on: The bitter dark secret behind that sweet taste of chocolate

By: Carolyn Thomas

Carolyn Thomas — Tue, 10 Feb 2015 03:04:00 +0000

Thanks so much, Angela. Coincidentally, I was just having a slightly similar chat today with a casual acquaintance. She was raving about a new skirt she’d just bought at Costco for $9. The more I listened to her going on and on, the more I wanted to smack her upside the head and ask her how she knew that some 9-year old child slave in an Asian sweatshop hadn’t made this fantastic bargain for her? We can figure out the math and assume that a garment this cheap didn’t come from a pleasant air-conditioned factory with good wages and workplace safety policies. Of course, we can’t always make assumptions that expensive designer labels aren’t manufactured in the same sweatshops too. Aarrrrgggh…

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By: Ursery

Ursery — Tue, 10 Feb 2015 00:19:41 +0000

Carolyn, thanks for this (and–oh, snap!–after reading your reply, above, I’ll forever think of you when I see the phrase, “Read the report.”). I particularly appreciate seeing links to alternatives to child-labor produced cocoa, and additional research on the industry’s use of child labor.

A challenge for many of us is learning the source of store-branded goods. I’m thinking, for example, of Trader Joe’s, now one of the biggest retailers in the US. Given the low price on the (very tasty) product, I’d be surprised if it *didn’t* come from the Ivory Coast/Ghana. I’ll come back and post when I find out.

Keep kicking butt,
Angela

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By: Carolyn Thomas

Carolyn Thomas — Thu, 19 May 2011 12:52:50 +0000

Thanks for this, Chris. Based on your comments, I’m assuming that you work for the industry.

But just two years ago,the Payson Center for International Development at Tulane University published an “assessment of child labor in the cocoa supply chain” that found “forced or involuntary child labor” to be “widespread in Ivory Coast”. Read the report.

And in September, the U.S. Department of Labor announced a multi-million dollar grant for “renewed efforts to end the worst forms of child labor in the cocoa industry of Ivory Coast and Ghana”, following up on the Department’s report, ‘Goods Produced by Child Labor and Forced Labor’.

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By: Chris D

Chris D — Thu, 19 May 2011 05:39:03 +0000

Organic Commodities Project has been out of business for years. There are thankfully not hundreds of thousands of child slaves. That number refers to kids working in ag in W. Africa more broadly, still an unfortunate number. Read the actual report. Also, there’s no guarantee that organic farmers get fair prices or use good labor practices. Organic governs chemical/biological aspects of farming and processing, not prices or labor practices. It’s not correct to state that Ivory Coast is wholly tainted w/ bad labor practices or that other cocoa origins are wholly good. There are Fair Trade co-ops in Ivory Coast now, and the majority of farmers use good labor practices. Kids work on farms across Asia, Africa and the Americas. Ask your favorite brands more practices. Get informed responsibly.

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By: Bette

Bette — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 00:41:05 +0000

Thanks for this. Newman’s Own organic chocolate is not available in my area but I was able to order some of the Denman Island organic chocolate thru their website (thanks for that link, what a deliciously addictive treat that is!) We can have our treats and still not feel too guilty.

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By: London Bobbie

London Bobbie — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 19:46:50 +0000

THANK YOU for this. I was kind of leary at first about reading this article based on your title (“oh no yet another thing I love that’s bad for me, for the environment, for human rights!”) but I’m glad to see this list of organic chocolate makers. I like to support smaller business anyway instead of Nestle, Hershy, etc. and I urge all your readers to do the same, if enough of us did, Big Corporate Chocolate would get the message.

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By: Ad Man

Ad Man — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:57:23 +0000

Interesting. So if we all decided just to purchase organic chocolate, we could bypass Ivory Coast cocoa beans. The list of non-child slavery chocolate is helpful. Will try the mail order service from Denman Island Chocolate – cool website.

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