From Halloween loot, Valentine’s Day gifts and Easter baskets, to late-night stress-snacking during finals, chocolate is a universally-enjoyed piece of our lives. Behind the sugary allure and glossy wrappers, much of the chocolate we consume is made possible by exploitative labor practices, environmental degradation and economic injustice.
About 70% of the world’s cocoa comes from West Africa, mainly Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, as part of a $130 billion industry with many farmers paid less than $1 per day. On these cacao farms, it is estimated that 1.5 million children are involved in harvesting cacao. The conditions on these farms are often hazardous and exploitative. Harvesting has also led to deforestation in cacao-producing regions.
In 2001, major chocolate companies signed the Harkin-Engel Protocol, a voluntary agreement aimed at ending the worst forms of child labor in cocoa production by 2005. Twenty years later, and not much has changed. Chocolate companies like Hershey, Nestlé and Mars, among other large companies, still have widespread labor violations.
Some chocolate companies have sought an ethical supply chain to harvest cacao and produce their chocolate. Ethically sourced and produced chocolate ensures that cocoa farmers are paid fair wages and work under humane conditions, which helps to combat issues like child labor and exploitation. Choosing to purchase chocolate that has been ethically sourced also promotes sustainable farming practices that protect the environment rather than destroy it, which promotes biodiversity and the future of cocoa production. Customers also benefit from supporting accountable supply chains, encouraging companies to prioritize social and environmental responsibility.
Tony’s Chocolonely is a Dutch-founded company that has positioned itself as a leader in ethical chocolate. Their mission is to “make 100% slave free the norm in chocolate.” However, in 2021, it was removed from the “Slave Free Chocolate” list due to its chocolate producer, Barry Callebaut, being linked to abuses in the supply chain. Despite their removal, Tony’s maintains both Fair Trade and B Corp certifications, which demonstrates their commitment to fair wages, sustainable farming and transparency in their sourcing and production. This highlights the challenges that ethical brands face in the complex cocoa industry. The difficulty in creating meaningful change in a system dominated by a focus on profits over people and the environment emphasizes a need for constant vigilance and the development of supply chain oversight in the pursuit of true sustainability and fair practices.
More recently, MrBeast, a popular YouTuber with a massive younger audience, launched Feastables, a snack brand that includes ethically sourced chocolate, with 100% of its cocoa coming from Fair Trade-certified sources. Sustainability and ethical sourcing to end child labor are highlighted as core values of Feastables. Whether a sincere attempt at change or a PR move, ethical sourcing of chocolate is a part of the mainstream conversation, even among influencers.
Ethical certification is not always flawless. Fair Trade certification does not guarantee perfection, but it aims to bring about fairer terms for people throughout the supply chain. Familiarizing yourself with which companies are working towards change is a great starting point, and choosing to support those efforts, however imperfect, can help push the industry toward greater accountability and transparency.
To get a sense of how my peers felt about the ethics of chocolate, I asked some chocolate- fanatics for their input. Driss Zaim-Sassi, FCRH ’25, who has consciously made steps to consume ethically-produced chocolate, said he can “enjoy the chocolate more knowing it’s made [ethically].” Zaim-Sassi believes “there is honestly a serotonin increase with the consumption of ethically sourced chocolate. It is impossible to enjoy a bar knowing that it was made unethically.”
When asked about his relationship with the sweet treat, MrBeast fan, Tyler Norrie, FCRH ’25, explained, “I love chocolate, but I feel bad knowing that it was possibly produced with unethical labor. That’s why I try to buy Feastables by MrBeast because he’s one of my favorite creators. The chocolate is also really good, and it’s ethically sourced, which makes me more willing to buy it in comparison to other brands like Hershey’s because I know Feastable’s is Fair Trade certified.”
Reflecting on his Fordham education, Joshua Atlas, GSB ’25, remarked, “I learned about [the ethics of chocolate] in one class. Chocolate companies cannot guarantee that child labor was not used in the process of sourcing the chocolate, which is definitely scary. Knowing that every chocolate bar I eat might have been sourced using child labor makes me feel guilty. I think it’s good that brands like Tony’s and Feastables are pushing the chocolate industry in the right direction, even if they cannot have a 100% guarantee. I hope other big chocolate companies will follow suit and pursue a 100% guarantee of ethically sourced and produced chocolate.”
Supporting brands prioritizing transparency and fair labor practices puts pressure on the rest of the industry to change, but individual consumer choice is not the only answer. Systemic change to the chocolate industry requires stronger regulation, the enforcement of labor laws and company accountability. Chocolate can be sweet, but its story is not always. The ethics of chocolate production is an ongoing challenge with issues like child labor, unfair wages and environmental harm. With consumer choice and companies’ commitments to transparency, there is hope for meaningful change and industry accountability.
Indira Kar, FCRH ‘25, is an international studies major from St. Louis, Missouri.
