#2 – The Argument for Ethical Consumption
In the first post of this series, we looked at the most common counter-argument to ethical living – that it’s too expensive. The more aware you become of Certified products, the more you realise that Certification is not restricted to luxury items. There are, however, further cries of protest that can be made… so let’s … Read more
#1 – The Argument for Ethical Consumption
Recession-hit, saddled with student debt and no hope in hell of a job, the last thing on the mind of a young graduate such as myself might be spending a bit extra to help an unknown, unseen cocoa farmer… But does it actually cost more? If you’ve come across STOP THE TRAFFIK before you … Read more
Dr Kraft and Mr Mondelēz?
ATTENTION SHOPPERS… The name Kraft that you know so well from being stamped on all kinds of popular foodstuffs, from Dairylea cheese to Dairy Milk chocolate, has decided to do some shape shifting. The artist formerly known as Kraft, who seem reluctant to clean up their trafficking-friendly cocoa supply chains in the Ivory Coast, have … Read more
CNN’s Chocolate’s Child Slaves- Oasis Academy sum it up.
Privileged! Not a word we necessarily associate with trafficking in the Chocolate industry, but for an Oasis Academy student in South London, that’s exactly how she felt when she learned that thousands of children are trafficked into the Ivory Coast and harvest the beans that go into making our chocolate. In just an hour the … Read more
Nestlé, Wish you were here!
Where are you headed on holiday over the next few months? If you are headed to Australia you’re in chocolaty luck because you’ll be able to find traffik-free 4 finger Kit Kat bars and by the end of 2011, Nestlé has committed to making their entire Australian Kit Kat range traffik-free and UTZ certified! Read more… Not … Read more
Traffik-free chocolate where you live
Today is World Day Against Child Labour, sponsored by the International Labour Organization. For a couple of years now activists around the world have been campaigning hard to get the chocolate companies to get on board with using cocoa in their products that isn’t grown and picked using trafficked child labour. From sending postcards, letters, … Read more
Bloody cocoa in Cote d’Ivoire
People have been asking me what our take is on what’s going on in Cote d’Ivoire at the moment. Is the unrest there affecting the trafficking of kids onto the plantations? What is our response? I want to take some time explaining it, but in a way that is short and simple to understand … Read more
Chocolatey Friday treat!
In response to our hunt for an Easter campaign slogan, one of our activist sent us a great story she wrote and it was just to good to keep to ourselves! It was After Eight on CaramacDonald’s Farm and The Little Red Hen was making Easter Eggs, but she was getting tired of doing all the work. She called a … Read more
The Nestlé slogan hunt is on!
Our Valentine’s Day campaign asking Nestle to ‘Have a Heart’ was a great success thanks to your help! Now, Mr. Cocoa Bean is hunting for a short campaign slogan to demand Nestlé hops on board this Easter to give us traffik-free chocolate! The winning slogan will be revealed on Mr. Cocoa Bean’s placard when we launch our Nestlé Easter Campaign in a couple of … Read more
Traffik-free Christmas
The whiff of Christmas is certainly hovering in the air: the faint scent of nostalgia, the aroma of kindliness and generosity… and the stench of every company in the land insisting that you spend your hard-earned money on their wares. Fortunately, STOP THE TRAFFIK is here to provide some retail assistance, with some beautiful gift … Read more
Noel Nestlé
Are you counting down to Christmas yet? You’re not the only one counting down… http://stopthetraffik-news.org/D5L-BISF-931KM19A61/cr.aspx
It’s time to raise the bar Nestlé!
Dearest loveliest blog readers! I write with exciting news…… well exciting for us, annoying for Nestlé As I am sure you’re aware, over the last few years we have been working together to pressurize the chocolate industry into making ethical and traffik free choices. The industry has responded and we now have more traffik free … Read more
Diamonds- until death do us part
You’ve probably heard the phrase ”Blood Diamond” before. Possibly you’ve seen the film. And if you’re even vaguely familiar with the subject, you’d probably wish you didn’t know that beneath the sparkle of a ‘girl’s best friend’, lies a very unsettling contradiction. In Zimbabwe, like in many parts of Africa, diamonds are seen as a major … Read more
Reverse Trick or Treating
Halloween 2010 is just around the corner, are that means you can participate in the Fourth Annual Reverse Trick-or-Treating! This year, make an even bigger difference for cocoa growing communities. Forced labor in the cocoa industry will not end unless EACH ONE OF US takes action! Reverse Trick-or-Treating is an initiative launched by Global Exchange. … Read more
Cocoa Journalists in the Ivory Coast locked up
The latest news coming out of the Ivory Coast suggests its not just victims trafficked into chocolate production whose freedom is at stake. Even the reporters trying to highlight things in the cocoa industry those in power would rather keep hidden, are having their freedom taken away. Since journalists are particularly important in providing public … Read more
From Slaveland to Poundland
Have you ever been into a Pound/Dollar/Euro shop and like me, wondered, who (when you save so much) actually gains from what you buy? This question has never been more relevant than it is today. In Poundland, for £1 (the equivalent of about $1.5 or just over €1), you can buy anything from a notebook … Read more
5. What if…?
…the local newsagent owner knew that the cocoa in the chocolate bars he sells came from the labour of trafficked African boys, sold into slavery, whipped and never allowed to escape?
Australia: We love Traffik- Free Dairy Milk
I just bought my first australian cadbury fairtrade chocolate!! It feels very sweet especially after cadbury told me two and a half years ago that our chocolate campaign would go away after a while! So, so nice Paul Mergard STOP THE TRAFFIK Australia
Tell us when, Nestlé!
The press has been full of the most amazing reports which say that Nestlé and Fairtrade have been talking together about chocolate! Not just any chocolate, but Kit Kat itself, the number one chocolate bar! Wouldn’t that be a wonderful thing, Fairtrade and therefore traffik free chocolate in all the vending machines, in the corner … Read more
