Super Eco

Photo credit: C.P.Storm, flickr

Unless they're certified organic or fair trade, those luscious chocolate Easter eggs and bunnies you've been nibbling on as you load your kids' Easter baskets (yeah, we saw those "test bites") were most likely made with cocoa harvested by child labor. Not something you want in your Easter baskets? We didn't think so. 

At issue: longstanding child labor and even slavery on cocoa farms in West Africa, primarily the Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast). "If you’re like we were only weeks ago, you might be scratching your head at the notion of any link between slavery and chocolate," notes Stop Chocolate Slavery. "Strange as it may sound, though, that link is as real as any Hershey’s bar or bag of M&Ms." Efforts to curb the labor abuses have not yet solved the problem.

The best way to make sure your chocolate purchases are not part of the problem is to buy only certified or organic fair trade chocolate. (Yes, America, that means most of the candy bars you grew up with are out.) Because Cote d'Ivoire growers do not produce organic cocoa beans, it's probably a safe bet (but not guarantees) that organic chocolate is also slave-free.

To make sure your chocolate is ethically produced, look for these certification symbols:

• Fair Trade Certified Certified by TransFair USA, the non-profit organization responsible for Fair Trade certification for products sold in the U.S.
• USDA Certified Organic Certified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture
• The Rainforest Alliance Certified™ Guarantees that cocoa used was grown on farms that meet comprehensive standards for sustainable farming, protecting soil, waterways and wildlife habitat as well as the rights and welfare of workers, their families and communities

And here are the two lists you'll need—companies that make fair trade and organic chocolate:

• Organic and free trade chocolate
• Fair Trade Certified chocolate

And finally, if all that talk of child labor has left you feeling a bit glum, here's a sweet parting treat: an entire page of reasons why chocolate is good for you.