Giving Chocolate on Christmas, Valentine's Day and Easter
by Nino Kether
Image from ‟Put your money where your mouth is” Blog > A Guide to Buying Slave FreeChocolate
January was National
Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month.
I love chocolate. But I think the real
cost should be addressed. It probably should cost more to have it —
given much of the chocolate we get is produced from slavery and/or
the money is used for war. These same concerns apply to coffee and
diamonds.
Years ago I was going to have Boise'sDream Chocolate make specialty bars for us at the Idaho Peace Coalition as a fund raiser. I decided not to because they didn't know
if their chocolate was slave free or conflict free.
According to Stop the Traffick, 1.8
million children are subjected to hard labor and horrible working
conditions on West African cocoa farms, which is where 70 percent of
the world's chocolate comes from. (STOP THE TRAFFIK was founded in
2006 by Steve Chalke MBE as a campaign coalition which aims to bring
an end to human trafficking worldwide. Initially STOP THE TRAFFIK was
set up as a two-year campaign to coincide with the bicentenary of the
Abolition of the Slave Trade Act 1807)
Dream Chocolate's website now states,
‟We are dedicated to making high quality chocolate in a socially
responsible way. Dream Chocolate Company has found suppliers who
share values in preserving the Earth and taking care of the people
who grow and produce this wonderful organic food. The cocoa beans are
Rainforest Alliance Certified, to make sure our product is grown
responsibly and the workers are treated well and paid fairly.” A
Rainforest Alliance Certified farm is one that complies with
10 standards set in place by the Sustainable Agriculture Network
(SAN). These standards include ecosystem conservation, wildlife
protection, and fair treatment and good working conditions for
workers.
Some terms to familiarize yourself with:
Stop the Traffick
Some terms to familiarize yourself with:
Stop the Traffick
The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) is the process established in 2003 to prevent "conflict diamonds" from entering the mainstream rough diamond market by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 55/56 following recommendations in the Fowler Report. The process was set up "to ensure that diamond purchases were not financing violence by rebel movements and their allies seeking to undermine legitimate governments."
A fair trade certification is a product certification within the market-based movement fairtrade. The most widely used fair trade certification is FLO International's, the International Fairtrade Certification Mark, used in Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Fair Trade Certified Mark is the North American equivalent of the International Fairtrade Certification Mark. As of January 2011, there were over 1000 companies certified to the Fairtrade International's_International certification and a further 1000 or so certified to other ethical and fairtrade certification schemes around the world.
Looking for a Fair Trade, organic label or an explanation of why the source is child labor free is the best we can do as consumers when purchasing chocolate. Certification programs can only go so far when it comes to eradicating the worst forms of child labor including slavery.
It takes you and me.
Another Ethical ChocolateCompanies List
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