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Do you buy Fair Trade chocolate and tea?

It is estimated that in the West African nation of the Ivory Coast alone, more than 600,000 children work on cocoa fields.

Children in the cocoa fields are being exposed to dangerous practices such as the unprotected use of chemicals, carrying heavy loads, brush burning and using machetes.

About half of these children do not go to school. There is also evidence of children being trafficked.

The study estimated up to 12,000 children had been trafficked for cocoa in West Africa.

Harvesting cocoa is intensive, back-breaking work. Cocoa rices have been declining in recent years, largely because of corruption and poor economic planning. To keep costs down, farmers traditionally use their children and other family members to help.

Criminal networks have been caught moving children across regions and international borders to work on cocoa farms.

Today there are hundreds of thousands of children working on cocoa farms in The Ivory Coast and Ghana. These cocoa children are forced to work for incredibly long hours, sometimes up to 100 hours a week, in dangerous conditions. They endure beatings and malnutrition. Many of them have no chance of going to school.
What’s the chocolate industry doing about it?

Over the last 10 years, the international media has begun to expose the use of child labour in the cocoa industry.

The industry responded by aiming to establish credible standards of public certification that ensure cocoa production is free of the worst forms of child labour practices in The Ivory Coast and Ghana by July 2005. They missed this deadline.

Read this;
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/09/17/1221330918327.html
http://www.fta.org.au/FLO/FT_chocolate

were you listening to triple j yesterday too? i was just about to post a topic on this, its so sad, i never knew this was going on. the story i heard yesterday, when the kids were asked what the cocoa beans were used for, they had no idea, they didnt even know what chocolate was! eat free trade chocolate ya’ll, i’m definintely sussing it out now.

I didn’t hear that on Triple J, good they are putting it out there again.
There is alot of info on the Oxfam and other sites etc. Its a serious problem, and its the responsibility of the MAJOR companies to get these Certifications. (It has been confirmed Cadbury and Nestle are not Fairtrade).
With all this knowledge of the violence in the third world countries, people can not sit back and allow it to occur. Social injustice is not something that people should sit around and wait for it to fix itself.

Supporters of World Vision’s Don’t Trade Lives campaign against human trafficking have been campaigning persistently for more than six months now.
They are starting to see people unite against trafficking and slavery. The campaign was launched in April with over 500 people attending an event hosted by Tim Costello and David Batstone. To date there have been over 100 Don’t Trade Lives events across the country. Thousands of people per month visit the Don’t Trade Lives website to keep up to date with current events and actions.

The five major categories of initiatives which are imperative to addressing the problem of exploitative labour in cocoa farming, providing reportable milestones on each of these;
Be developed as part of a global strategy and in consultation with relevant governments, NGOs and international organisations; and
Be underscored by adequate funding - US$14 million per year for the next 10 years or one percent of industry revenue.
Of course, if Big Chocolate fails to say “YES!” to the call for a costed 10-year action plan by 1 December, it’ll be interesting to see how our supporters and the Australian public respond!

The four biggest chocolate companies in Australia - Cadbury, Mars, Nestle and Ferrero - hold some 95 percent of the market share. These same companies dominate the industry globally too and therefore have an obvious responsibility to do the right thing by their consumers, retailers and, of course, the cocoa communities in West Africa.

The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery is held on 2 December each year. This year, we’re recognising this historically significant day by holding a Day of Action in schools and communities across the country. Check out donttradelives.com.au for details.

If you choose, please sign the petition; http://www.donttradelives.com.au/dtl/Issues/BigChocolate/petition.aspx

This is still a major issue, so am bringing it forward again…

Rescue of child slaves from cocoa farms highlights empty chocolate industry rhetoric

Interpol has announced the rescue of more than 50 child slaves from cocoa plantations on the Ivory Coast during a series of raids in June, raising further questions about the integrity of the cocoa used by the world’s major chocolate manufacturers.

“Chocolate manufacturers have fed the public feel-good motherhood statements about how child labour in West Africa is no longer a problem. These raids smash that misconception,” said Tim Costello, World Vision Australia chief executive.

The 54 children – aged between 11 and 16 – were of seven different nationalities, demonstrating the transnational nature of child trafficking for labour on cocoa plantations. The children were unpaid and forced to carry massive loads. Girls were found to be working seven-day weeks, attending to housemaid duties when not working in the plantations.

“These raids have uncovered a sophisticated, multinational trafficking arrangement in West Africa. Children have been reduced to a commodity to be bought and sold.”

“As consumers, it is far more comfortable for us to suspend belief and keep eating chocolate. But the uncomfortable truth is that most chocolate manufacturers still cannot guarantee that their chocolate is free from child labour,” said Mr Costello.

“Again, I call on all chocolate manufacturers to show leadership and take real, meaningful action to ensure their cocoa is ethically produced.”

Research in the Ivory Coast and Ghana – which together make up 60% of the world’s cocoa – reveals up to 80% of children in the cocoa fields are being exposed to dangerous practices such as the unprotected use of chemicals, carrying heavy loads, brush burning and using machetes.

Interpol has announced plans to carry out another rescue mission later this year, but until consumers make it a point to demand that Big Chocolate fundamentally change its ways, such efforts will likely remain the stuff of fleeting headlines.

Check your chocolate- choose Fair Trade brands.

So which brands shouldn’t I buy? lol.

Shouldn’t at this stage;Nestle, Lindt.

Mars are working on it, . Cadbury has just got their fair trade (thats not suprising as they put less cocoa in their chocolate and more vegetable oil btw..)

Green and Blacks Maya Gold is Fair Trade.

It might feel silly but it does make a difference- also with coffee and tea. 9fair trade coffee is the bomb anyways..

i worked at cadbury for 2 years in the kitchen area
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not much oil being used there

You talking African politics quoting “World Vision”??? Ethiopia under Sellasie was a world power, but yet ask my granny about Ethiopia she thinks about world vision tv commercials and hungry kids. Codex Alimentarius kicks in at the end of the year, it’s going to be interesting watching the world transformation. This fits in with the whole ‘Agenda 21’. It’s not just about the trading of chocolate.
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You should also avoid all music/clothes/alcohol/jewellery by Jay-Z as he was linked to a 5bn dollar lawsuit in regards to slave trading in sierra leone/south africa and the long history of the barclays bank ‘supposed’ involvement

FunkyJunky - 13 October 2009 03:47 PM

You talking African politics quoting “World Vision”??? Ethiopia under Sellasie was a world power, but yet ask my granny about Ethiopia she thinks about world vision tv commercials and hungry kids. Codex Alimentarius kicks in at the end of the year, it’s going to be interesting watching the world transformation. This fits in with the whole ‘Agenda 21’. It’s not just about the trading of chocolate.
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You should also avoid all music/clothes/alcohol/jewellery by Jay-Z as he was linked to a 5bn dollar lawsuit in regards to slave trading in sierra leone/south africa and the long history of the barclays bank ‘supposed’ involvement

YES I’m quoting ‘World Vision’ its bringing awareness (which has worked!! hehe) so good. And its not all about the trading of chocolate- just this thread.

Easy to avoid anything from Jay-Z done and done.

No, i’m with you on this, just had to rant about rev Costello and WV!
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That’s what the Codex Alimentarius (food code) is about. It sets the policies for what is being called ‘fair trade’ amongst cocoa (and all other types of food/nurients) as a recommendation to governments. All african countries are members of the C.A. (except one i think, Somalia just joined recently). You could also add sugar which has been responsible for slavery for centuries.
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Awareness yes, but what can we seriously do when governments are doing this to there own people to feed the western world? The african farmers need slave trading to make a profit. Petitions with companies like W.V. are profiting from these injustices! The CMA, Chocolate Manufactures Association is in coalition with the codex WHO/FAO. Sustainability rant over.
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Love ya work Auds, keep it up

Ok no more WV Quotes. I shall go to sites like UNICEF and ICEF (International Children’s Emergency Fund)

Sugar, Coffee, Cocaine (I’m assuming) Clothing, all these mass-profit industries that don’t abide by Fair Trade legislations and are not pushed to practice basic human rights.

hmm its good to focus things going on in your own backyard- but I just feel that these policies are not looked at diligently.

Green & Black’s to significantly expand its Fairtrade Certified™ range in 2010

Fairtrade Labelling Australia & New Zealand today confirmed premium organic chocolate maker Green & Black’s will be going Fairtrade Certified™ across the vast majority of its block chocolate and beverages range this year.

This means Aussie and Kiwi consumers will shortly be able to enjoy even more Green & Black’s chocolate confident in the knowledge that it is both organic and Fairtrade Certified™.
Today’s commitment by Green & Black’s to Fairtrade will result in an investment of approximately AUD$540k (NZ$685k) a year through additional Fairtrade Premiums paid to Dominican Republic cocoa farmers and their communities. These farmers are now the main source of cocoa for Green & Black’s and the move towards complete Fairtrade Certification is part of their ongoing commitment to ethical trading.
Fairtrade Labelling Australia & New Zealand Executive Director Steve Knapp said Fairtrade was excited Green & Black’s had made the commitment to extend Fairtrade Certification across the majority of its range.
“This means more Australian and New Zealand consumers will have the opportunity to buy Fairtrade and know they are helping to make a difference.
“The funding received by farmers through the Fairtrade Premium will be spent on initiatives to improve quality, yields and education which will in turn increase income for the farmers and help ensure the sustainability of the Dominican Republic cocoa industry and a brighter future for farmers, their families and their communities.”
Green & Black’s Managing Director Dominic Lowe said the company bought quality, organic Trinitario cocoa beans from cooperatives in the Dominican Republic, and had done so for 10 years.
“Up until now we have committed AU$540,000 (NZ$675,000) in local initiatives to improve quality and availability, but we wanted to do more to support our farmers.
“The move to Fairtrade Certification is a key milestone in our relationship with the farmers that are so fundamental in the making of the best tasting, premium, organic, and now Fairtrade, chocolate you can buy.”
Green & Black’s will work in partnership with cocoa cooperatives, farmers, local NGOs and Fairtrade to deliver community projects in the Dominican Republic, funded by the Fairtrade Premiums.

YAY more reasons to eat chocolate!!!