Equal Exchange Launches 5th Annual Reverse Trick-or-Treat Halloween Drive to End Forced Child Labor in Cocoa Countries
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Equal Exchange Launches 5th Annual Reverse Trick-or-Treat Halloween Drive to End Forced Child Labor in Cocoa Countries
Summary
It has now been 10 years since the cocoa/chocolate industry signed the Harkin-Engel Protocol obliging them to root out forced child labor in their supply chains. The Protocol was championed by U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (Iowa) and Rep. Eliot Engel (NY) in the wake of a global scandal when reporters uncovered the practice of children being trafficked and forced to work against their will on cocoa farms in West Africa. When after five years there was no discernable progress Equal Exchange, in collaboration with human rights and advocacy groups like Global Exchange and the International Labor Rights Forum, launched the first Reverse Trick-or-Treating campaign. On Halloween 2006 thousands of children nationwide delivered informational cards and Fair Trade chocolates to over 100,000 households to raise awareness of the issue and of Fair Trade as a tool to help end forced child labor. Unfortunately the industry has still done far too little to tackle child labor, or the endemic poverty of cocoa farmers, so the Reverse Trick-or-Treating campaign is returning for the 5th year.
NEWSROOM: Equal Exchange, Inc.
CONTENT: Press Release
(3BL Media / theCSRfeed) West Bridgewater, MA - September 30, 2011 - This Halloween children, organizations, and businesses across the U.S. will help children forced to labor on African cocoa farms by participating in the 5th annual “Reverse Trick-or-Treating” campaign. By handing out informational cards along with organic, Fair Trade chocolates from West Bridgewater, MA-based Equal Exchange when they go trick-or-treating, participants bring attention to the thousands of children who have been trafficked and forced to work in exploitative conditions on West African cocoa farms.
A pioneer and U.S. market leader in Fair Trade since 1986, Equal Exchange is an award-winning, full service, nationwide provider of high quality organic coffee, tea, chocolate, cocoa, healthy snacks and bananas. Their organic, Fair Trade cocoa-based products include nine 3.5 oz bars ranging from 38% to 80% cocoa content, bite-size .16 oz chocolate ‘minis’, hot cocoa mix, spicy hot cocoa mix, and baking cocoa.
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NEWSROOM: Equal Exchange, Inc.
CONTENT: Press Release