Exploitative child labour still taints Aussie Easter eggs

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

If Australian chocolate companies paid a small levy of 2 cents in every $10 of chocolate sales, exploitative child and trafficked labour in the cocoa industry could be abolished, says a new report released today by World Vision.

The report, Our guilty pleasure: exploitative child labour in the chocolate industry, recommends that the chocolate industry adopt a ‘sustainability levy’ on cocoa that will amount to about 0.2 percent of global chocolate sales. In 2009 chocolate sales amounted to approximately $100 billion.

Evidence listed in the report shows that child labour and, more disturbingly, the worst forms of child and trafficked labour are still rife in cocoa production in West Africa. 

Research undertaken by Tulane University in New Orleans found that from 2007 until 2008, almost 2 million children were working on cocoa-related activities in Ghana and the Ivory Coast. Nearly 50 percent of these children reported they had sustained injuries from their work. 

Only 1-3 percent of the global cocoa supply is ethically certified to have been harvested without the use of forced, child or trafficked labour.

“The money raised from the levy is needed to combat child and trafficked labour and train cocoa farmers in sustainable practices,” World Vision CEO Tim Costello said.

“The levy is likely to cost the chocolate industry in Australia about $2.5 million annually, a tiny amount compared to the $46 million they spent on advertising last year. 

“I’m sure Australian consumers would be happy to see less money spent on advertising if it means they can enjoy their chocolate Easter eggs knowing they have not been tainted with the worst forms of child labour.”

In 2001, an agreement called the Harkin-Engel Protocol was signed between big chocolate companies, the United States and the Ivory Coast to eliminate the worst forms of child labour from their cocoa supply chains.

The report suggests this agreement has failed and has been abandoned by many in the industry in preference for other solutions like purchasing cocoa through ethical certification schemes such as Fairtrade and UTZ Certified.

World Vision recognises that some of the big chocolate companies have committed to phasing in the use of ethically certified cocoa, with Cadbury offering one Fairtrade Certified Easter egg for the first time this year. Ethical cocoa is cocoa that is independently certified to have been harvested without the use of forced, child or trafficked labour.

“Our report shows only 1-3 percent of global cocoa supply is ethically certified today. Despite the best projections for growth in ethical cocoa, it’s expected 60-75 percent globally will still be uncertified in 2018,” Rev Costello said. 

“We congratulate chocolate companies who have committed to using ethically certified cocoa. However, certification schemes alone won’t solve the problem and more needs to be done. 

“In addition to ethically certifying their cocoa, big chocolate companies need to pay a fair price to farmers for their cocoa and invest in farmer training and monitoring programs. The chocolate industry is not short of financial resources to do this – they have just spent money at the wrong end of the supply chain for 20 years.”
 

ENDS ~

Tim Costello is available for media interviews. Please contact World Vision Australia media officer Sacha Myers on 0457 926 018.

Notes to the media:

Current Commitments of Major Chocolate Businesses in the Australian Market*

Chocolate Brand	% of Australian market**	Harkin-Engel Signatory	Commitment to Ethical Certification	Ethical chocolate available in Australia
Cadbury	46.9	No***	No specific goals or targets communicated globally; was first major brand to commit to using ethical cocoa in some of its products; has converted market leading product in all global markets	Fairtrade Certified Cadbury Dairy Milk milk chocolate range from April 2010, & Cadbury Dairy Milk milk chocolate Easter Magic Egg (65g) for Easter 2011
Mars	15.0	Yes	100% sustainably sourced cocoa # for all products by 2020 globally	Rainforest Alliance certified Mars Bars from June 2011
Nestle	14.0	Yes	No specific goals or targets communicated globally; Nestle Cocoa Plan provides framework for using ethical cocoa for each country; is in the process of converting Kit Kats in major markets to ethical cocoa	UTZ CERTIFIED 4 finger Kit Kats from start of 2011, all Kit Kats by end of 2011
Lindt	7.9	No	No commitments	No certified products available or planned to be available
Ferrero	5.7	Yes	No commitments	No certified products available or planned to be available

*     Refer to Appendix Four, World Vision Australia Chocolate Scorecard, for more information
**     Data taken from Retail Media Pty Ltd 2010, Market Sizes and Shares. Retail World, Annual Report, December 2010, pp. 41-96; Data reflects Grocery channel only, doesn’t include Convenience; Data is based on value of the market, not volume
***     While Cadbury is not a Harkin-Engel Protocol signatory, Cadbury was purchased by Kraft in January 2010, and Kraft is a signatory
#   Mars has made a commitment to only use certified cocoa by 2020 of which 100,000 tonnes per year will be Rainforest Alliance certified

Media Releases, Child labour, Africa, Cadbury, Child Labour, Child Slavery, Chocolate, Cocoa Industry, Easter, Ferrero, Lindt, Mars, Nestle`, Tim Costello, West Africa

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