Date of publication: August 6, 2009
Source: Russia Today
Author: Michelle Smith
By Michelle Smith
...The International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF) has a scorecard to assess the progress companies are making in their alleged efforts to stop exploiting child labor. It shows that if chocolate-makers had the same motivation to make chocolate as they are in fighting child slavery, the industry would have crumbled long ago.
Although the battle began in 2001, Hershey “continues to drag its feet in dealing with child and trafficked labor in its supply chain,” reports ILRF. “Like Mars and Nestle, Hershey has not effectively produced transparency or accountability…”
Nestle has been a main target of reformers because “unlike other chocolate manufacturers Nestle directly sources cocoa from West Africa and has direct control over its supply chain…” says ILRF.