A Chocolate Treat

 
Every year on Valentine's Day we purchase chocolate and other wonderful gifts for those we love and care about.  But these same delicious boxes of chocolate that signify love and care to us might mean pain and suffering to others.  A recent report by the Department of Labor documented that some
of the chocolate we consume is tainted by forced labor.   The report  highlighted that forced and child labor continue to occur in a region that produces 70% of the world's chocolate nine years after these very same labor abuses were first exposed.

This Valentine's Day our gift to you is an enhanced Free2Work.org, which will help you know the likelihood that your chocolate is produced using bonded or forced child labor.

"As consumers it's our responsibility to know if the goods we buy are perpetuating exploitative labor.  Unfortunately, it's highly unlikely any system can ensure a product is 100% slave-free but as consumers, it is our responsibility to know which products are less likely to be produced by slaves," David Batstone, President of the Not for Sale Campaign. "The concentration of slave labor used in chocolate production has significant implications for the credibility of the entire industry."

This week before you purchase chocolate for your loved ones, become a conscious consumer. Check out the company ratings on Free2Work.org and join the movement to end modern-day slavery.