This Valentine's Day, take action to end child labor and trafficking in the cocoa industry!
Valentine's Day is a major chocolate buying holiday, but your gifts for your sweetheart should not come at the expense of workers rights. Forced labor, child labor and trafficking continue in the cocoa industry in West Africa.
Tell Hershey to Have a Heart
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Make Valentines for Hershey CEO David West calling on Hershey to go Fair Trade.
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Create your own personalized Valentine telling Hershey to start using Fair Trade cocoa for its products, like the iconic chocolate Kiss. Address your Valentine to Hershey CEO David J. West and mail it to: 100 Crystal A Drive, Hershey, PA 17033. Please mail your Valentines to Hershey by February 18, 2011.
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You can also download a Valentine to color at www.raisethebarhershey.org.
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If you make your own Valentine, please scan it and send the image to the Fair Trade Project at www.raisethebarhershey.org. We'll post the best ones online!
Why Hershey?
Almost all major chocolate companies have begun to commit to using independent, third-party programs to certify that their cocoa suppliers comply with international labor standards, but Hershey continues to lag behind the industry.
Host a Screening
You can also raise awareness by hosting a screening of The Dark Side of Chocolate in your school or community. This important new documentary exposes the ongoing use of trafficked child labor in the cocoa industry.
Email fairtrade@labor-religion.org to obtain a copy of the DVD ($6) and toolkit including discussion guide and background informaton.
For More Information
Visit www.labor-religion.org or www.raisethebarhershey.org or email fairtrade@labor-religion.org.
Together we can support cocoa farmers and workers and make Valentine's Day sweet for everyone!