Ferrero statement welcomed

Ferrero statement welcomed

Stop the Traffik, a global coalition working to help stop the sale of people, has welcomed Ferrero’s statement of April 12 that it will eliminate all cases of the trafficking children, forced adult labour and other worst forms of child labour from its cocoa supply chain by 2020.

In doing so, Ferrero is the first global chocolate company to explicitly state it will fulfil the promise the chocolate industry made collectively in 2001 to eliminate the trafficking of children in their supply chain.

Together with Mars, which has promised 100% certified chocolate by 2020, Ferrero is the only other chocolate company to have made comprehensive commitments towards its entire cocoa supply chain.

This individual acceptance of responsibility, coupled with a commitment to report on progress each year, should be an example to the other major chocolate companies —such as Nestlé, Kraft/Cadbury, and Hersheys — to follow suit, said Stop the Traffik.

However, Ferrero has not yet committed to on-product communication to consumers at the point of purchase, an essential step that it will still need to make.

Only when a chocolate bar is communicating on the wrapper that the product is Traffik Free can consumers actually make an informed choice.

Stop the Traffik says it will continue to campaign for the chocolate industry to fulfil its commitment made in 2001 to eliminate trafficking in West Africa’s cocoa industry, and demand that they deliver traffic-free chocolate to consumers.

The year 2020 is still a long way away, and Stop the Traffik will be monitoring Ferrero’s progress in achieving its promise.

In response to Ferrero’s statement Stop the Traffik said it believed it was a good first step and a sweet deal for the children currently doing backbreaking work in West Africa’s cocoa farms.

Thousands of Australians sent postcards to Ferrero Rocher Australia as a part expressing their “Divine Frustration”. The postcards stimulated the opportunity for conversation between Ferrero and Stop the Traffik Australia leading to this outcome.

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