|
Dear John,
Today is Valentine’s Day. According to a study by the Nielsen Company about ten years ago, it’s estimated that more than 50 million pounds of chocolate is consumed on or around Valentine’s Day.
That’s a lot of chocolate.
The problem is that way back in 2001, the major chocolate industry giants, including Hershey’s, Nestle, and Mars, promised to eliminate the use of child labor in their supply chains by 2005. But now, more than twenty years later, they have extended the deadline yet again, to 2025. Cocoa beans harvested by children can be found in any and all of the chocolate products produced by these companies.
Clearly, promises were not enough. After two decades, these companies have repeatedly failed to fulfill their commitments.
About two-thirds of the world’s supply of cocoa comes from Africa, where more than 2 million children, some as young as 10 years old, are engaged in highly dangerous work to harvest it. They are paid little or nothing, and contrary to international standards, they are required to carry heavy loads, handle sharp machetes, and even spray pesticides.
Tell Hershey, Nestlé, and Mars to stop using child labor to harvest the cocoa for their products now!
In 2020, the International Labor Organization announced the ratification of Convention No. 182 by all member countries. This unanimously approved statement calls for the elimination of the “worst forms of child labor,” which include armed conflict, pornography, prostitution, and hazardous work such as cocoa harvesting.
Meanwhile, as the candy corporations have failed to take action, a federal lawsuit has been filed seeking to prohibit the importation to the United States of cocoa produced by child labor.
2025 is not soon enough! These companies must take clear, verifiable actions to stop using supply chains that use child labor now, not by some future deadline they may once again choose to ignore. It is immoral and irresponsible for these corporations to profit from the exploitation of children, and as consumers we must demand that they stop.
Sign the petition: Demand Hershey, Nestlé, and Mars end their child labor practices!
Thank you for helping to create a world freed from dangerous child labor.
Robert Reich
Inequality Media Civic Action
|
