Thought for the week: Joseph Jones on a sweet sorrow
‘The supply chain is quite murky around cocoa.’
Sandra Berry’s article on Woodbrooke under Covid reminded me of the last visitor we had to the Friend offices, before the pandemic closures. This was early in March 2020; I remember we were already careful enough to greet each other by bumping feet rather than shaking hands. Our guest was James Cadbury, great-great-great grandson of that other James Cadbury, the one who began selling drinking chocolate back in 1824. James had come to Friends House on his first visit – he has never been to a Quaker Meeting – for an interview with our journalist, Rebecca, about his ethical chocolate company, Love Cocoa.
‘The supply chain is quite murky around cocoa’, he told Rebecca (18 March, 2020), ‘particularly in Africa, where there is still some child labour.’ I made a mental note to look into the certification a bit more – I’m a sucker, so to speak, for a Malteser.
The intervening months have been distracting to say the least. But, memory jogged, I finally did some more reading. ‘Quite murky’, it turns out, is quite the understatement. Last December, the US Department of Labor (DoL) revealed that significant numbers of children are still working illegally in the chocolate trade. ‘Working illegally’ is a vague term, but, according to Abby Mills, campaigns director of the International Labor Rights Forum, ‘Every research study ever conducted… shows that there is human trafficking.’
Chocolate companies have known this for decades, but have resisted legislation. In 2001 they offered a voluntary protocol to address ‘the worst forms’ of child labour by 2005. In 2010, with little changed, they spoke of aiming for ‘a significant reduction’ by 2020. By the end of that year the DoL put the figure at 1.5 million children used illegally to harvest cocoa. Two months ago the human rights firm International Rights Advocates launched legal action against the world’s biggest chocolate companies (including the one that makes Maltesers). They accuse the corporations of aiding and abetting the illegal enslavement of thousands of children.
Ethical consumers check the label, of course. Small-scale options exist. But the certification on chocolate isn’t always helpful. Investigators have found child labour in the supply of products certified by the Rainbow Alliance, for example. ‘Organic’ chocolate is, most likely, from South America, where these practices are uncommon, but not eradicated. A ‘fair trade’ badge, according to the Slave Free Chocolate campaign, means the chocolate is ‘much less likely’ to be a product of enslavement – but it is not a guarantee (it ‘isn’t enough right now’, says the campaign).
Since James Cadbury’s visit, we’ve talked a fair bit about slavery in our Society. We’re clear about what we wish our historical forebears had done. Will this help us figure out what moral legacy we leave for those who come after us?
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