World Vision: Cadbury Fairtrade deal will transform lives of West African children

Monday, October 26, 2009

Children in West Africa will directly benefit from Cadbury Australia’s decision to certify its Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate block as Fairtrade, according to Tim Costello, World Vision Australia chief executive.

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

“For the past 17 months, World Vision’s Don’t Trade Lives campaign has lobbied Australian chocolate manufacturers to take genuine steps to protect these children. Cadbury listened, and with this announcement has clearly distinguished itself as a leader in the Australian chocolate industry.”

Fairtrade certification guarantees poor cocoa farmers a fair price for their products. It also explicitly prohibits the use of forced or slave labour, requires support for community development, and has a system of independent auditing.

“Fair cocoa pricing is the difference between children wielding a machete in the cocoa fields or a pencil in the classroom. Tens of thousands of cocoa farmers and their children will benefit from the Cadbury Fairtrade announcement,” said Mr Costello.

“As consumers, it is far more convenient 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. “Today Cadbury took an important step towards providing that guarantee.”

“Australians don’t want to feel guilty eating chocolate because children in West Africa are working in dangerous conditions – and sometimes trafficked – to harvest the cocoa used to make it,” said Mr Costello.

“This is a fantastic milestone on the road to ending child labour and trafficking. Again, I call on all chocolate manufacturers to show the same courage as Cadbury has and take real, meaningful action to ensure their cocoa is ethically produced.”

More than 25,000 Australians have participated in World Vision’s Don’t Trade Lives action on the chocolate industry, calling and visiting chocolate manufacturers and retailers, signing petitions, holding protests and visiting Members of Parliament to demand change.

The Cadbury Fairtrade announcement is the second campaign victory of its type in recent months. In May, Coles announced it would stock Cocolo Fairtrade chocolate varieties in every one of its 750 supermarkets, making ethical chocolate more accessible to Australian consumers.

http://www.donttradelives.com.au

Tim Costello has visited Ghana and the Ivory Coast to investigate child exploitation in the cocoa industry. He is available for interview. Contact Dominic McInerney on 0428 584 809.

Media Releases, Child labour, Africa, Cadbury, Child Labour, Chocolate, Cocoa Industry, Tim Costello, West Africa

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