Is your easter chocolate ethically made?

The 2024 chocolate scorecard reveals progress and challenges in efforts to eradicate child labour in cocoa supply chains, helping consumers choose ethically made chocolate this Easter.
child works on a cocoa farm

As Easter approaches, important questions about the sourcing of the 80 to 90 million chocolate easter eggs estimated to be sold in the UK this holiday are raised.

Is the chocolate we consumers buy ethically made, or are we unwittingly buying chocolate made through exploitation and child labour? 

The annual chocolate scorecard, a survey of the world’s major chocolate companies and retailers, shines a light on the ethical practices – and shortcomings – of the world’s largest chocolate companies.

This year’s research reveals that steps are being taken to eliminate modern slavery from chocolate supply chains, but more action is needed to tackle child labour.

Each year, the scorecard rates major chocolate companies and retailers on their sourcing policies and practices, providing insight into whether our favourite Easter chocolate is ethically made.

With categories covering six issue areas: traceability and transparency; living income; child labour; pesticide use; deforestation and climate; and agroforestry, the scorecard reveals the companies committed to tackling human rights and environmental issues in their supply chains.

child holds a cacao pod
child labour: policy vs practice

The exploitation of children is a long-running issue in the cocoa industry.

While all surveyed companies now have policies to address child labour, only around 55% of their supply chains are currently covered by monitoring programmes.

This glaring gap underscores the urgent need for transparency and accountability throughout the industry. Policy must translate into tangible action that eliminates the exploitation of children. 

Almost 70% of these companies can provide evidence that their programmes are reducing the prevalence of child labour, though stronger verification processes are needed.

In further positive developments, 18% of respondent companies have successfully identified and remediated cases of forced labour and human trafficking in the past 12 months – a promising increase in transparency and action.

Companies should be encouraged to increase their efforts to prevent child labour, rather than be condemned for finding it. Transparency and action are crucial in combating these serious issues.  

woman dry cacao beans
Gender inequality

For the first time, the scorecard survey included questions about gender. Female cocoa farmers often have lower incomes, own less land, and lack decision-making power, all while carrying out most of the labour.

Addressing gender inequality in cocoa has been shown to not only benefit women in the cocoa-growing communities, but also reduce child labour, increase school attendance, and improve the community as a whole.

Unfortunately, less than one in three companies received full marks for having a gender strategy in their cocoa. Scaling up monitoring, evaluation, and collaboration among stakeholders will be key in driving progress and ensuring a fair and safe working environment for all individuals involved in cocoa production in the chocolate supply chain.  

what can we do?

By evaluating companies on social and environmental criteria, the Chocolate Scorecard provides valuable information for consumers to make ethical purchasing decisions and incentivises companies to improve their performance in these areas. 

Andrew Wallis, CEO of Unseen, a partner NGO of Be Slavery Free, which coordinates the Chocolate Scorecard, said: “Child labour and modern slavery remain present in the cocoa industry. While companies are becoming increasingly aware of their responsibility to ensure that their supply chains are free from forced and child labour, the programmes created to address these issues need to be scaled up.

“The root causes of modern slavery, such as poverty, must be addressed to eradicate child labour in all supply chains. Consumer demand for more ethical chocolate is making a positive impact, so we urge people to continue making ethical choices based on the findings of the Chocolate Scorecard. The choices you make can help end the suffering of children across this industry.”

Discover how your favourite brands did across six categories, including child labour and living income, and use your purchasing power to choose ethically made chocolate this Easter.

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Justine Currell

As I came to understand more about the issue, including through a visit to an Unseen safehouse, I knew I needed to do more to stop this abuse and exploitation.

For the last five years of my Civil Service career, I was the Modern Slavery Senior Policy Advisor in the Home Office and led on development of the Modern Slavery Act, including the transparency in supply chains provision and business guidance.

I joined Unseen to lead the development of the Modern Slavery & Exploitation Helpline, and Unseen’s work with businesses. I am regularly called upon to present at national and international conferences and use my experience of working with Ministers to influence other governments internationally to take action to address modern slavery and, in particular, business supply chain issues.

In my spare time I enjoy keeping fit, music, reading and travelling.

Andrew Wallis

What ultimately compelled me to act was a report on how people from Eastern Europe were being trafficked through Bristol airport to the USA. Kate Garbers, who went on to be an Unseen Director, and I wrote to all the city councillors, MPs and the Police Chief Constable challenging them on the issue. The challenge came back to us: this city needs safe housing for trafficked women. And so Unseen began.

But we never wanted Unseen to be just about safe housing. We wanted to end slavery once and for all, and that remains our driving focus.

I chaired the working group for the Centre for Social Justice’s landmark report “It Happens Here: Equipping the United Kingdom to Fight Modern Slavery”. This is now acknowledged as the catalyst behind the UK’s Modern Slavery Act of 2015. It was a great honour to be awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours that year. On the other hand, I’ve also been described as “the loveliest disrupter you could ever hope to meet”.

This job has taken me from building flat-pack furniture for safehouses, to working with businesses to address slavery in supply chains, to delivering training, raising awareness and advising governments around the world.

When not at work, I enjoy travelling, spending time with my dog Harley, cooking, supporting Liverpool and Yorkshire CC, music (I’m a former DJ) and endurance events such as the Three Peaks Challenge and Tribe Freedom Runs – which I vow never to do again. Until the next time.