Whole Foods Drops Hershey's Scharffen Berger Chocolates Over Child Labor Abuses

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October 4, 2012

Whole Foods Market locations around the country will be removing one of Hershey’s high-end products -- Scharffen Berger chocolate -- from shelves by the end of the year due to Hershey’s failure to assure that the cocoa is sourced without the use of forced child labor.

Whole Foods’ decision to remove Scharffen Berger comes in response to more than 15,000 customers demanding that the natural foods grocer hold Hershey accountable for exploiting children for profit. Whole Foods’ decision follows more than 40 natural food retailers and coops publicly expressing concern about carrying Scharffen Berger and Dagoba products as a consequence of the giant chocolate maker’s refusal to address child labor in its supply chain.

In a letter to the Raise the Bar Hershey coalition, Whole Foods stated: “We do not take the concern over child labor or slave labor lightly, and we are currently in ongoing conversations with Hershey’s about its existing social accountability programs … Whole Foods Market is removing Scharffen Berger chocolate from our shelves pending receiving further information

According to a U.S. government-funded study, more than 1.8 million children work in West Africa’s cocoa industry. Many of these children are exposed to dangerous working conditions and some are even trafficked and sold off to perform grueling labor. Hershey, and other major chocolate companies, source the majority of their cocoa from West Africa. Several major chocolate makers, including Mars and Ferrero, have agreed to make a major commitment to sourcing ethical chocolate but Hershey’s, the maker of Dagoba and Scharffen Berger, has not, according to industry watch groups.

However, the same day Whole Foods announced it was pulling Hershey products from its shelves, Hershey Co. announced that it will be certifying 100 percent of its cocoa by 2020.The Raise the Bar Hershey coalition is urging the company to go farther by going 100 percent Fair Trade with incremental benchmarks.

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