TheChocolateLife :: LIVE – the blacklist

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.

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?”

“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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