America’s Worst Chocolate Is Sold In North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee

Many people are starting to question the origins of their chocolate for health and ethical reasons. There’s a growing push to stop supporting chocolate brands tied to unethical practices and slave labor. According to 24/7 Wall Street, here are 8 chocolate brands to avoid and why:

America's Worst Chocolate Is Sold In North Carolina

7. Lindt

Lindt, a Swiss chocolate company founded in 1845, initially specialized in dark chocolate before expanding to milk chocolate in 1934. It is often marketed as a luxury brand, but many of its premium products contain sugar as the primary ingredient, leading chocolate connoisseurs to view it as overpriced candy rather than high-quality chocolate.

Like others in the industry, Lindt faces criticism for sourcing cocoa from illegal farms in the Ivory Coast and Ghana and lacking full certification for its cocoa sources. In 2022, tests revealed that its dark chocolate contained lead and cadmium levels exceeding U.S. safety limits.

6. Ferrero

Ferrero, the second-largest chocolate producer globally, is an Italian company founded in 1946 by Pietro Ferrero and currently run by family member Giovanni Ferrero. With 18 factories and 40,000 employees, Ferrero produces 365,000 tons of Nutella each year, alongside brands like Baby Ruth, Crunch Bar, and Butterfinger through its Ferrara Candy Company.

Despite its extensive product range, Ferrero faces scrutiny for its ingredients; for example, Butterfinger's coating is technically not classified as chocolate due to insufficient cocoa content. The company received a D from Green America for its efforts to combat child and slave labor, relying on self-awarded certifications without making substantial progress in tracing its cocoa or improving farming practices.

5. Godiva

Godiva, a Belgian chocolate company owned by Turkey's Yıldız Holding, once had 128 stores in North America but closed them all due to declining sales, partly from the pandemic. While operating over 650 stores worldwide, most of the chocolate sold in the U.S. is produced in Turkey, despite a factory in Pennsylvania.

The company sources cocoa from illegal farms that utilize child and slave labor, contributing to environmental destruction. Godiva lacks any credible labor certifications and has failed to follow through on its promise to be 100% slave-free by 2020, earning an F grade from Green America. Additionally, tests have shown that their chocolate is significantly contaminated with nickel.

4. Mondelez

Mondelez International, Inc. may not be a household name, but it's the 108th largest U.S. company and operates in over 160 countries, producing popular brands like Oreo, Cadbury, and Sour Patch Kids. However, the company has faced serious accusations, including participation in deforestation, child labor, and unethical practices in chocolate production.

A 2017 investigation revealed that much of Mondelez's cocoa comes from illegally converted national park land in Africa, harming local wildlife, including chimpanzees and elephants. In 2021, eight former child slaves sued Mondelez for profiting from their exploitation on Cadbury farms, where children as young as 10 worked in hazardous conditions. Despite these issues, Mondelez continues to operate in Russia amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, earning a designation as an international sponsor of war.

3. Hershey

Founded in 1894, The Hershey Company (NYSE) is a leading chocolate producer. Its secret process, including lipolysis, gives its chocolate a tangy flavor that some, particularly in the UK, find off-putting.

In 2006, ABC News exposed that many Hershey products aren’t technically chocolate due to the replacement of cocoa butter with vegetable oil, prompting the rebranding to “chocolate candy.”

Hershey has lagged in ethical reforms, with Whole Foods ceasing sales of its Scharffen Berger brand over child labor issues. The company promised 100% certified cocoa by 2020 but later admitted it couldn't ensure its products were free from slave labor, tracing only 50% of its cocoa.

In 2022, Hershey faced a lawsuit for allegedly concealing harmful levels of lead and cadmium in its chocolate.

2. Nestlé

For a clear example of corporate power misused, look at Nestlé, the world’s largest public food company. Despite its vast product range—from baby food to bottled water—it has faced significant criticism and lawsuits for unethical practices across various sectors.

Focusing on chocolate production, Nestlé has been accused of using slavery, child labor, and trafficking. The company has repeatedly promised to eliminate child labor but has failed to follow through. It created an organization to address slave labor in collaboration with other firms, yet it lacks real authority to enforce accountability. Reports suggest that Nestlé instructs farms to conceal evidence of exploitation during inspections, raising serious concerns about its commitment to ethical practices.

1. Mars

Mars Inc., a major producer of candy and pet products, is still owned by the Mars family, who founded it in 1911. Despite being the fourth-largest private U.S. company in 2022, Mars has a long history of broken promises when it comes to ethical chocolate production.

Since 2001, Mars has repeatedly failed to meet deadlines for eliminating child slave labor from their supply chain, revising targets multiple times without success. In 2019, the company admitted they couldn’t guarantee their chocolate was free from child labor, as they could only trace 24% of their cocoa.

In 2021, eight former child slaves from Mali sued Mars and other companies for knowingly supporting their enslavement. The U.S. Supreme Court dismissed the case since the events occurred outside the U.S. A 2023 investigation found children as young as five working in dangerous conditions in Mars' supply chain in Ghana.

Mars has also been criticized for sourcing cocoa from illegal farms in protected areas of the Ivory Coast and Ghana and was named as an international sponsor of the war in Ukraine in 2023 for continuing business in Russia.

Looking for chocolate that doesn't taste like wax and avoids unethical practices? Maybe you're after a treat that doesn’t involve child labor or exploitative farms falsely labeled as fair trade. While it sounds simple, finding ethically made chocolate is harder than it seems.