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The Dark Side of Chocolate: Slavery

Just like Darth Vader, we’re no stranger to the dark side at Mr Popple’s Chocolate. We just can’t get enough of dark chocolate. However, there is an even darker side of the chocolate industry that all of us at Mr Popple’s Chocolate don’t like and that’s slavery. 

Let’s be honest, when do we buy and enjoy our favourite chocolate bars and actually think about where they’ve been sourced and assembled – rarely!

People all around the world love chocolate. I’m sure you can think of a time when chocolate has brought you joy. Whether it was eating chocolate or even just seeing someone else’s cacao-induced joy. Chocolate is a big part of many people’s lives. But, unfortunately, this excitement isn’t shared with many of the people who work hard to produce the chocolate you know and love.

You may be wondering why. This is because a large number of workers are exploited on a daily basis within all areas of the chocolate industry.

It is chocolate season and chocolate lovers all over the world are rejoicing. Unfortunately, many people don’t know that chocolate comes at a cost: slavery.

There are still slaves in the chocolate industry all around the world – but there ARE ways to help!

Real Talk

Cocoa farmers on average earn less than £2 a day, which puts them below the poverty line.This means that children have to start working at a young age, in order to support their families. A complete contrast to the upbringing of many Western children…

As a result of their premature entry to the adult world, many children fall prey to traffickers. Traffickers tell the children that they will be paid well. A brazen lie. Some are also sold to traffickers and forced to work long days. Some never see their parents again…

A heart-breaking reality for many children who grow up in the developing countries where cacao farms thrive.

Farmers aren’t directly to blame. The main reason they use child labour and resort to slavery is because they are struggling to make ends meet themselves and need to cut costs wherever they can. Supplying middlemen, poverty and debt has also driven them to use slave labour.

It’s a vicious cycle that many farmers struggle to tackle and break. 

The first allegations of child slavery in cocoa production were reported in 1998.

By 2008–2009 it was estimated that 819,921 children worked on cacao farms in Ivory Coast alone. In the period between 2013–2014, the number went up to 1,303,009. During the same period, in Ghana the estimated number of children working on cacao farms was 957,398 children. A hard statistic to swallow…

But together we can work to stop this, simply by supporting more ethical brands.

Although chocolate may not be as sweet as you would expect it to be when it comes down to its history, there is still hope that we can put an end to the terrible treatment many are subject to in the chocolate industry!

It’s Not All Doom and Gloom

At Mr Popple’s Chocolate, we pride ourselves on being an ethical chocolate brand. Our dark chocolate bars are ethically sourced, as well as being super tasty. Yes, we really can multitask!

We try to cut out the middle man as much as possible. As the longer the supply chain, the larger the risk becomes of illegal practices and slave labour.

All of us at Mr Popple’s think that chocolate tastes better without the unethical aftertaste!

Universally fair chocolate is ALWAYS our aim and we hope that you share our passion for honest and ethically-minded chocolate.

Explore our range of ethical slave free chocolate at mrpoppleschocolate.co.uk

#livingthebean