Money and Power: The Unnamed Ingredients

The world’s biggest chocolate companies have been promising to end child labor in their supply chains for decades. In that time, they’ve thrown their support behind shiny public relations campaigns to gloss over the problem. They’ve set deadlines, missed them, and moved the finish line, all while they continue business-as-usual. And for over a decade, two of those companies, Nestlé and Cargill, have also been in court with International Rights Advocates (IRA), the organization whose sole focus is to sue multinational companies for violating human rights in their global operations.

In December of 2020, Nestlé and Cargill landed in the Supreme Court for a lawsuit filed by six people who were forced into child labor in their cocoa supply chains. In this episode, we speak with Terry Collingsworth, the Executive Director and attorney at International Rights Advocates that’s representing the six plaintiffs. Are corporations above the law? Do money and power trump human rights? Those are the questions at stake in this case that has the potential to change corporate accountability in the U.S. The conversation marks a turning point as we shift our focus from voluntary certification to the fight to hold corporations responsible in ways that they can’t just walk away from.

Take Action: Add your name to the petition and tell Nestlé, Cargill, and other big chocolate companies to STOP using child labor in their supply chains. Then, join us on May 7, 2021 at 10 AM PST for a live, online conversation about building a more ethical future in the chocolate industry. Register now to reserve your spot!