Shaz’s Lenten Challenge 2
So in my lent challenge of ‘treading more lightly on the earth’ I have been inspired again. It is a bit tougher this time.
I started thinking about Easter fast approaching and doing a little research I discovered this from World Vision Australia and the Ethical Consumer Group…
“In 2007, slave traders worldwide made more money that Google, Nike and Starbucks combined”
What the? I said, then this…
“In 2009 there were an estimated 27 million women, men and children held in bonded labour, forced child labour and sexual servitude.” That is 6 million MORE people than there are in the whole of Australia.
70% of the cocoa produced in the world comes from West Africa, mainly Ghana and the Ivory Coast. An estimated 1.36 million children between 6 and 14 work as slaves in the cocoa fields in this region. Some are sold into slavery by their families, others are trafficked by criminal networks. They do not go to school, they are severely malnourished and work approximately 80-100 hours a week. Buying Fairtrade products with the Fairtrade symbol means you do not buy from companies supplied by the slave trade.
I also discovered Nestle is bad, bad, bad, bad. They may look all nice and nature friendly with their bird in the nest logo but they are one of the biggest supporters of slave labour amongst the major companies today.
Now it is true, if you went out a bought a Nestle chocolate egg for Easter it would be cheaper than some of the fair-trade brands. However, consider this; the average amount received for selling a child into slavery is less than what we pay in Australia for a family block of chocolate. So when you buy fair trade it means you haven’t bought a child, surely that is worth another 60 cents. These are children, REAL children, not idea’s thought up to make you feel guilty at the shopping centre. If you feel guilty indulging in chocolate anyway try to not add child slavery to your conscience.
| In Australia, World Vision called on the Australian chocolate industry to commit to a plan of action to stop child labour and trafficking in cocoa production. | ||||||
| In response to this, one of the biggest chocolate manufacturers in Australia,‘Cadbury’ committed to achieve Fairtrade Certification by Easter 2010. This is happening! And hopefully Cadbury will remain Fairtrade despite Cadbury being purchased by Kraft in February of this year.
So my advice to you DO NOT BUY NESTLE, if you are on a tight budget BUY CADBURY … BUT … if you want to be %100 sure you are buying fairtrade then use the quick reference guide below for fairtrade brands and who stocks them… |
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| *** If you want to learn more about the chocolate trade, and what we can do to prevent slavery then feel welcome to join us at the 7pm service at Doncaster East Uniting Church (152 Andersons Creek Road, Doncaster East) on the 14th of March to hear from Tess Keams about Fairtrade and the chocolate industry. |