TheChocolateLife :: LIVE – the blacklist

TheChocolateLife :: LIVE – the blacklist

Streaming live from 12:00pm EST Friday February 18th

There are no truly reliable guides to so-called “ethical” chocolates, and the ones that do exist take a “white list” approach identifying good actors.

It occurred to me that it might be easier – at least in some respects – to maintain a blacklist of cocoa/chocolate companies.  One of the main attractions of the blacklist format, to me, is that it makes it easier to present information in ways that encourage skeptical, critical, thinking, not blind acceptance – to get people, you, dear reader, used to the idea they need to educate themselves and be vigilant, critical, and view claims that appear on product labels and marketing skeptically.

the blacklist
There are many attempts to generate and maintain “whitelists” of ethical chocolate companies. This is not one of them.
ISO 34101-1:2019
Sustainable and traceable cocoa — Part 1: Requirements for cocoa sustainability management systems
Click Preview to the right of Abstract to see the TOC.
Tony’s Chocolonely finds 1,700 CHILD workers in its supply chain
Chocolate brand Tony’s Chocolonely has revealed some 1,701 child labourers helped make its sweets last year, in spite of its goal to help root out exploitation in chocolate production

Chocolats Halba (the manufacturer of Alter Eco chocolate) – Policy and action plan for the protection of children 2022. (Link to PDF.) Also from Chocolats Halba, “Compliance with Fairtrade standards is independently audited by ISO-17065-accredited firm FLOCERT GmbH. For Rainforest Alliance-certified raw materials, independent and ISO 65-accredited certification organisations carry out the standard inspection in the form of an audit. But no organisation or certification system can offer a 100% guarantee that a product has no links to child labour. By working together with Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance and other certification systems, HALBA pledges to protect children to the best of its ability.” In other words, “plausible deniability?”

Donate — IRAadvocates
Stop Cocoa Slavery!
Help end modern slavery in the cocoa industry.

“War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.”
— George Orwell, 1984

“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less.” “The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.” “The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master – that’s all.”
— Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

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