From the Washington Post dated 10/23/19 By Peter Whoriskey "Chocolate companies ...

Chocolate companies sell ‘certified cocoa.’ But some of those farms use child labor, harm forests.

Utz, the largest cocoa certifier, found “alarming” problems at four firms responsible for auditing a large portion of the world’s supply.

By

Peter Whoriskey

Oct. 23, 2019 at 11:32 a.m. CDT

The leading organization responsible for policing standards in the world’s cocoa industry has regularly approved cocoa from West African farms that use child labor or have contributed to deforestation of the region, interviews and research show.

Read the full article here.

Letter to Oprah Winfrey

Hi Oprah,

My name is Ayn Riggs and I am the founder and director of Slave Free Chocolate.  We are a small group of people working as activists to eradicate the use of Worst Forms of Child Labor and Child Slavery in the cocoa industry.

I heard in the news that your 2015 list of the your favorite things is out and one item on the list is the Signature Turtle Basket from Phillips Chocolate in Boston.  As I am sure, on the surface, this is a lovely and tasteful product but it seem strange that on organization of your size that has done so many positive things, would not be aware that the chocolate in this gift basket is tied to the Worst Forms of Child Labor and Child Trafficking and Child Slavery.

It is hard to imagine that you would condone this kind of thing.  So on the outset that you didn't know, I invite you to read through the Slave Free Chocolate website.  

Please feel free to contact us to further discuss how you can help change this terrible situation.

Sincerely,

Ayn Riggs, Director, Slave Free Chocolate, 760-715-4618

Class Action Law Suit Directed at Chocolate Companies

We will be reporting more on this in the future.  This is not the same law suit as Doe. VS. Nestlé, Cargill and ADM.  

This was reported in the Court House News Service by NICHOLAS IOVINO 

Chocolate Giants Face Slave Labor Lawsuits

By NICHOLAS IOVINO 

SAN FRANCISCO (CN) - Three of the nation's largest chocolate companies - Mars, Nestle and Hershey - get cocoa from suppliers that use child slave labor, customers claimed Monday in three federal class actions.
     All three lawsuits, filed by Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, claim the candy giants "turn a blind eye" to human rights abuses by cocoa suppliers in West Africa while falsely portraying themselves as socially and ethically responsible.
     "America's largest and most profitable food conglomerates should not tolerate child labor, much less child slave labor, anywhere in their supply chains," the complaints state.
     They accuse the companies of false advertising and violations of California business and consumer laws. All the plaintiffs claim they would not have bought the defendants' chocolate had they known it was produced with child slave labor.
     All cite the defendants' corporate responsibility statements, including Hershey's declaration that it has "zero tolerance for the worst forms of child labor in its supply chain."
     Lead plaintiff Elaine McCoy claims Nestle has publicly embraced protection of human rights as one of its core business principles, but fails to live up to it or to disclose the truth to customers.

For the rest of the article CLICK HERE

C.R.E.E.R. Africa is looking for an intern.

Duration: Four months minimum.
Location: Abengourou, Moyen-Comoe, Cote d'Ivoire
Your role will be different, this is a chance to sow the seeds for the start of this centre. You can really make an impact. Depending on your skill set and experience, volunteers at C.R.E.E.R can take on a variety of roles and responsibilities. You will have an Outreach Worker living on site with you.
We're looking for our 2nd Coordinator with ideas, drive & initiative for our NGO; after four years of preparation, C.R.E.E.R is finally starting! Our current Coordinator is doing a fantastic job but will sadly be leaving us!
You might be wanting a change in life or a post-graduate student looking to get some experience; it could give someone the chance to write a thesis at the same time.
We are working to prevent young girls and boys from being trafficked into exploitative working conditions. We're offering a shelter to rehabilitate those children who have escaped their situation & living on the streets.
We will be providing education, vocational training, shelter, protection, community outreach, and youth leadership training to at-risk individuals and communities.
We are always open to new ideas and projects that utilize volunteers' unique strengths and creativity! This position is ideal for someone with long-term goals or interests related to alternative education, nonprofit administration, communications and media, child protection, or human trafficking prevention.
Your role which will take about 2-3h per day may include:
• Coordinating finances & administration on site
• Facilitating extracurricular activities with the children
• Producing and coordinating social media and communications,blog and newsletter
• Photography and/or videography for social media
• Writing grant reports and proposals
• Actively fundraising and marketing
• Meeting dignitaries & receiving visitors, possibly giving presentations on the organisation
• Attending events and meetings
• Helping in other areas based on your skill set, such as DIY
• Directly reporting to the Founder & Ivoirian Board; on site & off site
 
Preferred Experience:
• Background, coursework, or demonstrated interest in issues of child protection, statelessness, gender inequality, nonprofit administration, and/or international development
• Outstanding communication and organizational skills
• Ability to work independently and proactively identify solutions to problems
• Ability to work in a cross-cultural environment and navigate language and cultural barriers
• Flexibility, patience, and adaptability
• Ability to manage a wide array of tasks and priorities
• Excellent spoken and written English or French but with a reasonable spoken profiency in both
• Sense of humor and a positive attitude
 
Preferred qualifications:
• Teaching/Social work experience and/or experience working with children and young people
• Experience in a developing country
• Experience volunteering and/or working for a nonprofit or NGO
• Experience in an office environment and/or in administration
• Bilingual English/French language skills a major plus
 
If you've read this far & are still interested in applying, please e-mail us a cover letter explaining what you are able to offer us along with your CV to c.r.e.e.r.rci@gmail.com
Compensation details
C.R.E.E.R does not provide any salary or living stipend to volunteers, nor do we charge any fees to volunteer with us.
Volunteers must be able to fund their flight, visa, transportation & living costs but you will have a room to live in (although fairly basic at this early stage)
A motorbike is provided to get around town (shared with Outreach Worker).
Volunteers should be able to finance their stay with private fundraising and grants.
[8/30/15, 8:46:31 AM] Anglais Aerien Afrique: Volunteer Coordinator
Chance to sow the seeds at a new rehabilitation centre for street & trafficked children.
 Côte d'Ivoire

Contact Chole Grant for more information.  You can find contact information at C.R.E.E.R. Africa.org

Nestlé tackles PR troubles and publicly promises change.

Nestlé announced that their KitKat bars in Japan are going to only have ethically sourced cocoa.  This comes right off of the report that the the amount of children working in the cocoa fields of West Africa has risen from 1.8 million to 2.3 since it was last reported.

Child labour on Nestlé farms: chocolate giant's problems continue

Auditors completing their annual report continue to find evidence of child labour on Ivory Coast farms supplying Nestlé

Children younger than 15 continue to work at cocoa farms connected to Nestlé, more than a decade after the food company promised to end the use of child labour in its supply chain.

A new report by the Fair Labor Association (FLA), commissioned by Nestlé, saw researchers visit 260 farms used by the company in Ivory Coast from September to December 2014. The researchers found 56 workers under the age of 18, of which 27 were under 15.

               The rest of the article on The Guardian

Bloomberg picks up story about Hershey Investors Suing over Child Labor

Last fall two law suits came out with decisions that went in favor of the cocoa kids and not in favor of the chocolate companies.  We are happy to see that Bloomberg picked up the following story!  --SFC

Hershey Investors Suing Over Child Labor Can Pursue Files by Jeff Feeley  Bloomberg News

March 19 (Bloomberg) -- Hershey Co., the largest chocolate maker in the U.S., was ordered to face a lawsuit by investors seeking to force it to turn over records about cocoa from African farms that may use illegal child labor. 

A Louisiana pension fund raised legitimate questions about Hershey executives’ knowledge of how much of the company’s cocoa, grown in West Africa, may have been produced by child slaves, Delaware Chancery Court Judge Travis Laster said yesterday. He overruled a master’s recommendation that the shareholders’ request to see cocoa-supply chain records be denied. 

West Africa, including top growers Ghana and Ivory Coast, accounts for about 70 percent of the world’s cocoa-bean production. Pressure to manufacture chocolate without harming children may grow as global sales of sweets head toward a record in 2014 and candy makers process more beans, according to data by Euromonitor International Ltd.  

The suit’s allegations create “a reasonable inference about the possibility” some cocoa Hershey officials bought from Ghana and Ivory Coast suppliers may be tainted by the use of illegal child labor, Laster said at a hearing in Wilmington, Delaware. Those questions may be “sufficient to warrant further investigation,” he said. 

See rest of the article at Bloomberg News