Do Cadbury's use child labour/ source from Cote D'Ivoire?

[UnderRated]

Because their website claims they don't use children but I thought I had read otherwise.

I just need to know, can I buy Cadbury's or not?

may not use children as in not having them on the payroll officially, but if child labour is part of a country's economy then it's going to be pretty hard for such a large supplier as Cadbury's to avoid it.

I know Nestle do, big hoo-ha over here about it recently

That's what I suspected. I am sure Cadbury's is bad. I won't buy it over here anyway as 1) it tastes like shite and 2) It is made by Hershey's who are owned by Nestle but I was hoping imported stuff might be alright...

There is a child labour problem in the cocoa industry. On the other hand, cocoa is Cote d'Ivoire's big export, and boycotting them may be a blunt tool, as they're emerging from civil war and don't want to see a drop in the price of an importnat commodity. Poverty won't benefit the kids, either. There's fair trade stuff from Ghana (where I live) called Divine, and very nice it is. I've met the head of Cadbury's here, so I know they source from Ghana too.

Buy fair trade from these countries if you can, and write to Cadburys and ask them what they're doing to put an end to child labour in cocoa groves.

I would assume that any chocolate that is not accredited by the fair trade foundation is bound to be dodgy.

TooT has assured me Cadburys are v bad

I also agree with MI although there are a few exceptions, eg is it Montezumas who are not officially fair trade accredited for various reasons,mbut definitely do have ethical policies in place which they stick to?

Does boycotting really help? When everyone went on about marks and spencers a few years back, they stopped using child labour which apparently forced more children into sex industry . I am no way saying child labour is right, its not its very wrong. But in some cases the poverty is so bad that if the children dont bring in a wage it means no food so children will find work where they can and if restrictions get tighter it forces children into more underground dangerous jobs including the sex trade. Again Im not saying what these companies are doing is ok, because its obviously not but I dont believe boycotting is the answer, the poverty itself needs to be addressed

so why isn't any of their chocolate fair trade, then?

Apparently Cadbury owns Greens & Black, which is Fair Trade.

no, Green and Black is organic
they do one fair trade bar which is Maya Gold, the rest is dodgy

oh I believe their cocoa powder is also fairtrade
but not the rest

Franny, I agree about companies like Montezuma - I was being a bit sweeping there!

I don't have enough information about Cadbury's to judge its policies, but I would be pretty certain that there is a big divergence today between the multinational firm and foundations like Barrow Cadbury (for which I have a very high regard and about whose Quaker origins I recently wrote a short piece).

When in doubt, look for the logo.

we need TooT
I know nothing really
I buy Green and Blacks for a start, but it isn't fairtrade, I know that

Divine is not as good chocolate but is fine for cooking with.

I like the Divine orange one, but can hardly find it anywhere

My sister challenged Cadbury's about this and got a long response back detailing lots of stuff they do to ensure good labour practices. Can't remember the detail now and didn't know whether to be entirely convinced or not.

Isn't all M&S chocolate fair trade?

I was musing while buying bananas today, how would shopping habits change if non-fairtrade products had to be explicitly marked 'not fairly traded'.

This is interesting.

I think it is safe to assume that as the primary motive of big business is to make money, the only way to be assured of (some degree of) ethical standards is to look for independent certification of some sort.

And otherwise assume that the workers' faces are being Ground Into The Dust.

this is useful

Ah right, we have had the Maya Gold one a fair bi - use it for a fridge cake we like - which must be the fiar trade one.

DD likes the Dubble Bubble bars. Not sure who makes them though, def not one of the big ones.

If it doesn't carry the fair trade mark then don't buy it. Cadbury's may not employ children or slaves directly but they buy from farms that do.
Stop the Traffik

Not often I have to defend Cadburys, but its hardly their fault - or ours - that big manufacturer chocolate isn't fair trade.

Personally I think Fair Trade is a fantastic idea that needs to be hugely expanded. The problem at the moment is that it is so hugely restrictive about which suppliers they will accredit. AIUI from reading their websites and others they essentally only accredit co-ops. That excludes all the big producers that companies like mine and Cadbury rely on.

In our case if we boughg the entire UK supply of Fair Trade cocoa beans it would keep us in production of Yorkie bars for about 4 months. Should we and Cadbury and Mars shut down because Fair Trade can't supply our needs?

We buy most of our Cocoa from Ivory Coast. We are the sole customer of many cocoa farmers there. We educate them on agribusiness and how to maximise yields and thus profits - something the Fair Trade people don't do. Should we switch out of these farmers thy end up with no work - so how are we evil? And btw the average wage they get is $20 behind the fixed rate Fair Trade pay. I'd like to see that closed. But its not like we exploit them.

Seriously, if the attitude is Fair Trade is the only acceptable kind of chocolate/tea/coffee there's going to be millions of starving ex-farmers out there. How about Fair Trade drops its anti-capitalism stance and start accrediting large-scale operations?

I am quite sure, IWFN, that if large corporations approached the Fair Trade Foundation (which is I assume the body to which you are alluding) they would be eligible for accreditation.