Child labour on Nestlé farms: chocolate giant's problems continue - Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (2024)

FAQs

What are the Nestle child labor accusations? ›

They say that they were held against their will, beaten and forced to work long hours for no pay on farms where Nestlé sourced its cocoa. Nestlé has claimed that it had no idea child labor and such flagrant abuse of workers was taking place.

Slavery and child labour

Multiple reports have documented the widespread use of child labour in cocoa production, as well as slavery and child trafficking, throughout West African plantations, on which Nestlé and other major chocolate companies rely.

Some children end up on the cocoa farms because they need work and traffickers tell them that the job pays well. Other children are “sold” to traffickers or farm owners by their own relatives, who are unaware of the dangerous work environment and the lack of any provisions for an education.

The suit, brought by International Rights Advocates in the D.C. Superior Court, accuses chocolate giants Mars, Mondelēz and Cargill of purposely dragging their feet to phase out the use of child labor, misleading the public about their efforts and condemning generations of children to a life of poverty and dangerous ...

Nestlé never engaged in the egregious child labor alleged in this suit, and we remain unwavering in our dedication to combatting child labor in the cocoa industry and to our ongoing work with partners in government, NGOs and industry to tackle this global issue.

Nestlé was the first company to set up a Child Labor Monitoring and Remediation System (CLMRS) in the cocoa sector in Côte d'Ivoire. This system identifies at-risk children within cocoa and farming communities, provides remediation and monitors their situation to avoid them becoming involved in child labor.

1. The Baby Formula Scandal. Baby formula is one of the biggest and most controversial of all Nestlé products. Since the company's conception in 1867, Nestlé has convinced people its baby formula is better for infants than breast milk — a claim that is categorically false.

In November last year, Nestle revealed it was discontinuing Caramac and Animal chocolate bars from its range of products after more than 60 years due to declining sales. Worcester News: Caramac and Animal chocolate bars were discontinued by Nestle in November 2023.

In 2018, Nestlé agreed to buy the rights to sell Starbucks' coffee and tea in grocery and retail stores for more than $7 billion. For Nestlé, which owns the Blue Bottle, Nespresso and Nescafé Dolce Gusto brands, coffee has been a strong arm of its portfolio.

The reality, however, is that 60% of the world's cocoa beans originate in Ivory Coast and Ghana, and over 2 million West African children work to produce them. The circ*mstances vary for each child laborer, though child labor today doesn't look much different than it did twenty years ago.

What is the main problem with child labor? ›

Child labor affects millions of children around the globe by depriving them of their childhood, education, and fundamental human rights. Child labor poses risks of physical, emotional, and psychological harm to the children involved.

As the chocolate industry has grown over the years, so has the demand for cheap cocoa. Most cocoa farmers earn less than $1 per day, an income below the extreme poverty line. As a result, they often resort to the use of child labor to keep their prices competitive.

Hershey does not tolerate child or forced labor in our operations and in our supply chain. One of the ways Hershey combats forced labor is through our commitment to responsible recruitment and employment and our endorsem*nt of the Priority Industry Principles and the Employer Pays Principle.

As you can see from the card, companies like Alter Eco, Divine, and Theo Chocolate rank highly for their labor certifications, charitable donations, reforestation investments, and worker wages.

Federal court dismisses child slavery lawsuit against Hershey, Nestle, Cargill. A U.S. District judge dismissed a class action lawsuit brought by eight Mali citizens against Nestle, Hershey, Cargill and other firms for engaging in child slavery on cocoa farms on the Ivory Coast.

Justices scuttle lawsuit against Nestlé, Cargill for allegedly aiding child slavery abroad. The Supreme Court on Thursday threw out a lawsuit alleging that two U.S.-based companies, Nestle and Cargill, facilitated human-rights abuses on cocoa plantations in the Ivory Coast.

ARGUMENTS FAVORING CHILD LABOR

Some argue that poor families would be even poorer without the supplemental financial contribution of children. Lack of money will deprive them of the basic needs of food and shelter which will decrease their survival rate.

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