简体中文
EnglishHow the Ethical List on Slave Free Chocolate Helps You Choose Chocolate
Updated
The Ethical List on slavefreechocolate.org is the site's answer to a specific problem: nearly every chocolate company now says it cares about farmers and children, so a label or a statement on its own tells you very little. The list is meant to separate companies that only make claims from those the site judges to be "Slave-Free the Whole Way Through." If you want a starting point for choosing chocolate based on that distinction, the list is the page to use — and the site points visitors to it directly with a "CLICK HERE for LIST" link.
What the list is trying to do
The site frames the problem in blunt terms. It cites a U.S. Department of Labor announcement from December 2020 stating that 1.6 million children were working illegally, with a percentage of them trafficked and held as slaves. It notes that candy companies — naming Mars, Nestlé, Hershey, Cargill, Cadbury, Mondelēz and Barry Callebaut among others — admitted accountability and promised to fix the situation, yet 20 years later the number of exploited children has only increased.
Against that backdrop, the Ethical List exists because, in the site's words, "with every chocolate company 'claiming' to care for its farmers and children, it's hard for the Ethical ones to compete." The list is the site's way of giving the companies it considers genuinely ethical a place to be recognized — and of giving shoppers a way to find them.
How the screening logic works
The distinction the site draws is between claiming and doing:
| What most companies do | What the Ethical List looks for |
|---|---|
| Publicly state that they care about farmers and children | Go "the extra mile" beyond statements |
| Sign on to industry pledges and agreements | Act in ways the site treats as deserving of your business |
The site's stated position is that the companies profiting from the system are the ones that have to fix it, and that a concrete starting point is paying much more for the beans they buy. Its reasoning: when a farmer makes less than $2.00, they cannot afford to hire adult labor. That argument is the lens behind the list — the site is looking for companies it believes are changing the economics, not just the messaging.
How to use it
- Go to slavefreechocolate.org.
- Follow the "CLICK HERE for LIST" link to reach the Ethical List.
- Use it as a shortlist when you are deciding what to buy, rather than as a certification you can verify independently.
One thing to be clear about: the list reflects this site's own judgment. The page does not lay out a published scoring rubric, third-party audit, or certification body behind each entry. So treat it as a starting point for your own research, not as a neutral rating.
Why it matters for a purchase decision
The site's core claim is that consumer money is leverage. If companies that only claim to care face no cost for that, they have little reason to change, and the ones doing more have a hard time competing. Using the list is a way of directing your spending toward the companies the site believes are doing the work — and of making the "claiming" strategy less profitable.
Related context on the site
The page also highlights a December 20, 2023 development: a case brought against Cargill in Washington D.C. Superior Court alleging exploitative child labor on cocoa farms in Ghana, with a CBS News investigation reporting children as young as 5 appearing to work in the industry. The site links to an NPR segment featuring Terry Collingsworth of International Rights Advocates, which brought the case on behalf of child plaintiffs in Ghana.
It also suggests "Reverse Trick or Treating" — attaching a small note to each piece of candy you hand out — as a low-effort way to spread awareness while people educate themselves on the issue.