Hershey's Fair Trade Announcement is Bliss | Sojourners

Hershey's Fair Trade Announcement is Bliss

Chocolate Jesus. Image via Wiki Commons, http://bit.ly/wXJOBI.
Chocolate Jesus. Image via Wiki Commons, http://bit.ly/wXJOBI.

We missed this announcement last week, but it’s good news and so it’s worth going back a few days for!

There was good news for ethical chocolate lovers last week when Hershey’s announced a number of measures to promote ethical practices in its chocolate production.

As anti-trafficking organization Not For Sale reported:

The leading US chocolate producer has announced it will release a new version of Hershey’s Bliss brand, which will be 100% made from Rain Forest Alliance-certified farms mostly in Ivory Coast and Ghana.

Hershey’s has also pledged $10 million to educate West African cocoa farmers on improving their trade and combating child labor.

Child labor is still rife in West Africa, where 70% of the world’s cocoa is grown, and many children who are forced to work in the industry have been trafficked into their jobs. It’s good to see as influential a producer as Hershey’s taking its commitment to justice and ethical practices seriously. We look forward to trying the new Hershey’s Bliss bar soon!

Jack Palmer is a communications assistant at Sojourners. Follow Jack on Twitter @JackPalmer88.

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