I just boycott all of them at this point. Slavery in the cocoa industry is basically impossible to avoid and I'd rather not support it if I don't have to
Ethical Consumer recommended Tony’s Chocolonely, Divine and Chocolat Madagascar among the brands which paid Fairtrade International or Rainforest Alliance rates or higher, and use chocolate made in the country of origin rather than from imported beans.
Joke Aerts, of Tony’s Open Chain, said it was trying “to put human rights at the core of purchasing practices” by using traceable cocoa beans, paying the living income reference price (the amount a typical farmer needs to make to be able to live), helping farming co-ops to become more professional, working with them for at least five-year periods, and helping farmers improve crop yields so they had less incentive to clear land to plant more cacao trees.
Yet the size of the cocoa-growing areas makes them hard to police, according to Mike Rogerson, a lecturer in operations management at Sussex University and an expert on modern slavery in supply chains.
Companies not paying a proper price effectively means that parents can’t afford to make a living and look after the family on their own,” said Rogerson
A Nestlé spokesperson said: “We believe that Ethical Consumer’s assessment of our approach does not reflect the comprehensive detail we provided about our work, and therefore does not represent the extent of our efforts to sustainability source cocoa for our products.
Ferrero said it works with farmer groups on improving livelihoods by increasing cocoa productivity and diversifying, and supporting the wellbeing of women and children and the environment.
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