Tell Hershey to Stop Using Child Labor

When I tell friends and family about child labor, some are positively horrified. Didn’t we outlaw that years ago because it’s so dangerous, they ask? But when I mention its use in third world countries, many people get high and mighty about it. “Well, isn’t it better than no job at all? They can feed their families this way,” they retort comfortably, content to continue buying their products at cheap prices.

Um, no, that’s not exactly it. You see, the kids who are working in these factories, mines, fields, and other dangerous areas do not receive an education because they are working twelve or more hours a day. They are also not guaranteed long life spans, since the conditions they work under often leave them dehydrated, malnourished, overheated, and oftentimes, sick or dead. Would you work without a bathroom in sweltering heat without water for fifteen hours for pennies? If not, why would you assume that it’s okay to do that to a ten-year-old in another country so you can get cheap chocolate, t-shirts, or electronics?

Then there’s the simple fact that many kids are not supporting their families, or themselves, but are simply working as slaves. That’s because lots of kids who work on these plantations and other fields of work are sold through the business of human trafficking. They have no voice, no rights, no pay, nothing. They simply work for free while we foot the bill. Doesn’t this bother you?

Hershey is a big user of child labor. And while many chocolate companies—like Ben & Jerry’s, Mars, Cadbury, and others—have all agreed to start monitoring their use of chocolate, phasing out the use of child labor and using more fair trade and sustainable methods of farming, Hershey is still operating in the dark ages.

Please ask Hershey to stop using child labor and exploiting sold child slaves in order to make a quick buck. You can find a script and phone number to call here. Be sure to let them know that you are a Hershey fan, and that if they moved toward fair labor practices you would be happy to continue buying their products.

In the meantime, if you would like to participate in boycotting Hershey products until the company agrees to cease using child labor, here are some of their candies:

Twizzlers

Kit Kat

Kisses

Chocolate

Ice Breakers

Take 5

Reese’s

Almond Joy

Jolly Rancher

Rollo

Mounds

Heath

Almond Joy

Milk Duds

Nutregeous

Payday

Mr. Goodbar

Whoppers

Breathsavers

Bubble Yum