Valentines Day is coming up.
After Halloween, it’s the second biggest time of year for buying chocolate.
Chocolate didn’t make the list of the top 10 commodities produced using child slave labor, but it only missed by a hair. Particularly in the Ivory Coast, child trafficking for work in the cocoa plantations is rampant.
Ten years ago, the largest chocolate companies around the world signed a protocol (the Harkin-Engel Protocol) that was supposed to bring an end to that practice, but to no avail. The practice continues with very little enforcement of the standards set forth. The Protocol relies on the industry’s self-regulation, and that is it’s undoing.
Of all the chocolate companies that were signers of the Protocol, Hershey‘s has been the most flagrant violator, having done nothing to implement any of it whatsoever. Hershey’s therefore, has been the focus of some intense public demonstrations and other campaigns over the past few years. Most notably among these is the Raise the Bar Hershey campaign, cooperatively led by Green America, Global Exchange, the International Labor Rights Forum, and Oasis for People and Community.
Last winter, the Raise the Bar campaign raised enough money to air a commercial that was to run during the Superbowl to shine a huge spotlight on Hershey‘s non-compliance. At the last minute, Hershey announced that it would begin sourcing its Bliss product line with certified organic cocoa. The certification is the first baby step in the right direction, and is the first time Hershey has allowed any kind of independent certification of it’s supply chain. The organic certification, though, is only for organic product, and says nothing about the labor conditions, and it is only for a very small product line within the overall Hershey brand.
As a good-will gesture, Raise the Bar pulled the Superbowl commercial at the last minute. Still, Hershey will make millions this Valentines Day on chocolate that comes from plantations using child slave labor. So, the campaign continues, and you can help the kids enslaved on the cocoa plantations. The pressure is still on to help Hershey see the light and go fair trade.
First, This year, our family made homemade valentines that will be sent to Hershey CEO, John Bilbrey, and Chairman of the Hershey Foundation’s Board of Managers, Robert F. Cavanaugh. You can download some ideas and all the information you need from the Raise the Bar Valentine Action page, and from Global Exchange’s Valentine Action Page. It’s a great family activity, everyone learns together, and kids get involved in making a difference.
Second, you can buy fair trade chocolate for your sweetheart(s). There is a huge variety of fair trade chocolate. Here are two companies I’ve personally sampled that have some special Valentines Day deals:
- Divine Chocolate – and yes, it is divine! (Also on Facebook, and Twitter.) Sourced from cocoa farms in Ghana, the farmers who make your chocolate have a 45% ownership share in the company.
- Equal Exchange. (Also on Facebook and Twitter.) Equal Exchange has been in the cocoa business for years, and has a proven track record of helping the people who grow their cocoa. They have plenty of other fair trade products, too. And, better yet, if you’re part of a faith group, you can even get this stuff at wholesale rates by buying it through your church at their Interfaith Store.
Third, if you must buy a Hershey product, buy the Bliss line of products. By this, you’ll help Hershey figure out that doing the right thing is also good for their bottom line.
You can make a difference by being aware of where your chocolate comes from, by letting companies know that you care about where the products you want are coming from, and by putting your money where your mouth is – literally.
Happy Valentines Day!
