First Evangelical Covenant Church

Spring is such a joyous time of year. Flowers blooming, trees blossoming, and the fresh fragrance of rain remind us of new life; especially new life in Christ. Yet there are billions of people who are spiritually dead and do not know new life in Christ. There are millions of people who not only are spiritually dead, but their day-to-day physical lives are dead, hopeless, and dark. We who are Christians are called to share the good news of Jesus Christ which brings new life. This new life is both physical and spiritual. One way of sharing the good news is through ministries and actions focused on compassion, mercy, and justice.

Not too long ago, in a galaxy not too far away, the Women's Ministry Commission of First Evangelical Covenant Church brought to our attention a grave injustice of our current time: modern day slavery and human trafficking. There are a lot of areas where slavery occurs: agriculture, manufacturing, sex industry, domestic service, etc. Two of these areas were specifically targeted: sex slavery and chocolate.

Many people have asked about the chocolate issue. This is a complex issue. Women's Ministry provided a list of chocolate companies that know about the use of slaves in the cultivation, harvesting, and processing of their chocolate. These companies have responded in different ways to this knowledge. The most well-known response was that a majority of chocolate manufacturing companies in 2001 signed a document commonly called The Cocoa Protocol. In brief, the companies made a promise to certify their products as free of trafficked or forced child labor by 2005. When 2005 rolled around, these companies had made little if any headway in achieving that goal. They changed the goal of the agreement to certify 50 percent of their products to be free of trafficked or forced child labor by 2008. According to most watchdog groups (e.g., STOP THE TRAFFIK and International Labor Rights Forum) the signers of this document did not reach this 2008 goal, and have done very little to implement the goal as of 2010. Despite the failure to reach the 2008 goal, it is important to recognize that some companies have made better advancements than others. For example, Cadbury has released one line of product that they can verify is slave free. (It is their Dairy Milk chocolate bars.) Nestlé has also releaded one line of verifiable slave-free chocolate in the UK and Ireland: the four-finger Kit Kat® bar. Hershey's chocolate has acquired two formally independent companies (Scharffen Berger and Dagoba) who are able to verify their products as fair-trade, organic, and/or slave free. Hershey's has also made a commitment to support growing environmentally sustainable cocoa.

So here is the burning question: should we buy chocolate products from Cadbury, Nestlé or Hershey's? Of course you have to decide for yourself, but here is what I have been thinking. There are a couple of different opinions I have read on this issue. One opinion is to only buy fair-trade/slave-free, whole trade, and/or organic products. Another opinion is that it is not wise to boycott the "big chocolate companies." The reasoning for the second opinion is that although the big companies buy chocolate from some farmers who use slaves, they buy a majority of their chocolate from farmers who do not use slaves. Thus in the end, those farmers who do not use slaves are hurt in the boycott process. I am sure there is good sense in this opinion, but here is the rub for me. If a small company can ensure its products are slave-free I cannot understand why a large company cannot do the same. Smaller companies with a fraction of market share are proving slave-free chocolate is not only possible but competitive. Imagine the impact on the industry (and on Africa) if a company like Cadbury committed to ensure that all their products were 100 percent slave-free and environmentally sustainable. Certainly one chocolate bar is a good start. Certainly the goal of 50 percent fewer exploited, abused children is a good goal. But let us be honest, one bar and 50 percent fewer child slaves is simply not good enough. I would prefer to buy chocolate from a company that can guarantee all their product line is free from slavery at every level of production (i.e., from cocoa bean to chocolate bar). This is why I support buying fair-trade/slave-free, whole trade, and/or organic products. We need to let it be known that there is a market for slave-free products. The power is literally in our hands and it is such a small, easy decision. We do not have to give up eating chocolate. We are not being asked to give additional funds to a cause. We are merely choosing one product over another. That simple choice here makes a world of difference there. In addition to your purchasing power it is also recommended to write to one of the "big companies" and share your concern about their slow response to provide 100 percent slave-free chocolate products. If you want to know where to purchase "good" chocolate, see below for a list of where to buy fair-trade/slave-free chocolate in Rockford. If you know of other stores that carry these products, let us know! Bon appétit!

Just Goods

Natural Choices

• Alaska—baking chocolate, chocolate syrup
• Endangered Species—chocolate bars
• Green and Blacks—hot chocolate
• nSpire (SunSpire)—chocolate chips, M&M, Almond Joy, Mounds, Peppermint Patty style chocolate, and much more

Starbucks

• Starbucks brand—chocolate bars, chocolate-covered graham crackers and espresso beans
• Dagoba Organic—chocolate bars

Woodmans

• Endangered Species—chocolate bars
• Greens and Blacks— chocolate bars
• Newman's Own— chocolate bars
• nSpire (SunSpire)—chocolate chips and Almond Joy/Mounds style bars
• Rapunzel— chocolate bars
• Sharffen Berger— chocolate bars