Choco-LOT to hide

Chocolate’s Dark Side and How You Can Help     

Tell us about your favourite chocolate.   

 

Is it crunchy? Milk or dark? Do you savour it or devour it in one go?   

And what if you discovered it was linked to child labour?   

Would you feel upset? Set it down mid-bite? Reach out to the chocolate company responsible?   

It’s a confronting question – and thanks to our latest research, we may know the answer.  

59% of New Zealanders surveyed said they’d stop buying their favourite chocolate if it was tied to child labour1. Another 7% said they’d reach out to the chocolate company responsible to voice their concerns.   

The last estimates suggested over 1.5 million children were engaged in child labour on cocoa farms in West Africa2.  

That’s more than all children living in New Zealand.   

Be Slavery Free’s The Chocolate Scorecard tracks the world’s largest chocolate companies, who together account for an estimated 90% of global cocoa use. This is about using the power of these major companies to drive lasting, meaningful change in the industry.  

Want to make your chocolate choices count?

The New Zealand Chocolate Scorecard

The Chocolate Scorecard shows how the biggest chocolate brands stack up on key social and environmental issues in their cocoa supply chains. It's not necessarily a list of the world's most sustainable companies, but it shows which big companies are leading the pack and who's falling behind. We've pulled the results of some of New Zealand's most popular brands, but you check out the full list at chocolatescorecard.com

Chocolate that doesn’t compromise childhoods  

We love eating chocolate. And just like you, we love seeing children thrive – with food on the table, time to play, and the chance to excel at school. We believe these can go hand-in-hand. In fact, we’re convinced that if business and government take responsibility for their roles in creating change, and if chocolate lovers can use their collective influence, we can make this a reality.  

 

 

Chocolate lovers: Indulgence and influence

As chocolate lovers, our choices can matter. Businesses and governments often need a push to do what’s right. Many New Zealanders want to support companies taking real action and ask for better from those that are falling behind. But it’s not easy finding time to sift through company websites, trying to differentiate between greenwashing and true commitment to change.

The Chocolate Scorecard is a tool to make informed choices about the large chocolate companies — whether you’re deciding what to buy or figuring out how to focus your advocacy efforts. We know the Scorecard doesn’t cover all your favourite small chocolate companies, many of whom are leading the industry on key sustainability issues. That’s why we’ve created this guide to navigate the boutique chocolate world and identify the brands leading the charge. 

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Chocolate companies: Time to back up the sweet talk  

The UN Guiding Principles on Business make it clear: companies must take responsibility for mitigating negative impacts on human rights throughout their supply chains. While millions of cocoa farmers and chocolate eaters make up the global chocolate industry, just a small group of powerful companies hold the reins at the centre of the supply chain.   

To drive meaningful action, accountability and collaboration are essential. This is where the Chocolate Scorecard plays a pivotal role. Organised by Be Slavery Free, the Scorecard brings together a consortium of NGOs and industry experts to assess the sustainability efforts of the world’s largest chocolate companies, pushing them to make meaningful improvements.   

 

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Government: We need laws that protect children, not profits 

The responsibility to protect children from exploitation isn’t just with businesses – it's also with governments. For decades, child labour in the cocoa industry has been undeniable. Yet, for most of this time, we’ve relied on the voluntary efforts of chocolate companies to address it. But without enforceable laws that compel companies to act, the drive to reduce costs will almost always outweigh ethical responsibility—even if it means millions of children continue to miss out on education, safety, and opportunities.   

Join Tearfund’s efforts to ask our government for modern slavery legislation here!   

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Dive deeper into the chocolate industry

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DEEP DIVE

Child labour is the chocolate industry’s worst kept secret

We’ve known about child labour in cocoa for at least 25 years – why does it persist?

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Deep Dive

Follow the cocoa supply chain from bean to bar

Want to know more about how chocolate gets from a farm to your supermarket?

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Donate

How farming and enterprise are fighting slavery

Find out how we partner with MFAT to address exploitation and improve rural livelihoods in the Asia-Pacific region.

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Blog

What about small chocolate businesses?

We know how the big companies are doing, but here's what to look out for with boutique chocolate.

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Advocate

Modern Slavery Legislation

Here’s the latest on the campaign to get modern slavery legislation.

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Explore

The Chocolate Scorecard

Dive deeper into the research behind the Chocolate Scorecard.

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 Footnotes

1. Research conducted by Horizon Research for Tearfund. The survey took place in December 2024, with a sample of 1,028 participants, demographically weighted to match the New Zealand adult population. The survey had an overall margin of error at a 95% confidence level of ±3%.The survey question: “If you discovered your favourite chocolate was tied to child labour, how would you respond?”. 59% of survey respondents said they’d avoid buying that brand. 7% said they’d reach out to the brand to express their concerns but keep buying it.  

2. https://www.norc.org/content/dam/norc-org/documents/standard-projects-pdf/NORC%202020%20Cocoa%20Report_English.pdf (2020)