It’s no secret that the chocolate industry is rife with slave labour, poor working conditions, and abuse. Roughly two-thirds of the world’s cocoa supply is grown in West Africa, and working in the region’s cacao bean farms are more than 2 million children, according to the U.S. Labor Department.
Chocolate companies such as Mars, Hershey, and Nestlé have all pledged to eradicate child labour, yet the Washington Post reports that the three giants are still largely unable to identify the farms where their cocoa is sourced, and could not guarantee that any of their chocolates were produced without child labour.
Hershey can trace roughly half of its cocoa back to farms; Nestlé can trace 49%; and Mars, known for making M&M’s, Twix and Milky Way, is a measly 24%.
So this Valentine’s Day, avoid products from Mars, Hershey, and Nestlé at all costs and instead consider these three brands that can guarantee that their chocolates are ethical, sustainable, and delicious!
Notably, Theo is not participating in the global commodity cocoa market and instead pays its suppliers a base price. The reasoning behind this decision? The Seattle-based chocolate company says that prices on the market are volatile and farmers can be financially impacted negatively.
“Low cocoa prices means farms aren’t always profitable, and disincentivize farmers from investing in their farms or families,” reads Theo’s website. “Cocoa cannot be sustainable in that model because farmers have no reason to keep growing it.”
Next up is Alter Eco, a Certified B Corporation founded back in 2005 by activists Mathieu Senard and Edouard Rollet.
Their organic and Fair Trade-certified chocolate offerings are free from GMOs, additives, and gluten. The best part? Alter Eco’s cocoa suppliers practice regenerative farming, which is said to improve soil quality and promote crop diversity. In comparison, industrial farming depletes soil health, is prone to droughts and pests, and farmers are reliant on the harvest and price of a few crops.
In addition, Alter Eco’s products are packaged in compostable, recyclable, post-consumer-recycled packaging.
Currently, Alter Eco is selling dark chocolate Valentine’s truffles, a perfect gift for your loved ones.
To learn more about slavery in the chocolate industry, visit Food Empowerment Project’s website.
