Fair Feels Good

An astonishing 90 million chocolate Easter bunnies are made every year - the far majority of which destroy the life of a child as quickly as it puts a smile on another child’s face.

Most cocoa is produced in West Africa. Cocoa companies in the US pay so little for their raw ingredient that the farmers in Africa cannot meet their families’ basic needs, let along pay their workers. To create the bunnies and other chocolate treats, an estimated 284,000 children - many of whom are slaves - are forced to work long hours with dangerous tools in grueling working conditions.

This cycle can be broken. Fair Trade certified chocolate prohibits forced and abusive child labor, pays a fair price to farming families that is adequate to meet basic human needs, and requires environmentally sustainable production methods.

This Easter, stay guilt-free and choose from our sweet list:

• Divine Chocolate available through A Greater Gift. $7 for a pretty bag of dark or light chocolate Easter eggs individually wrapped in gold foil. Tempt yourself further with heavenly recipes for Divine Chocolate.
• Equal Exchange Chocolate. $3.95 for a bar, $17.50 for a pretty pack, and $39.00 for a cute basket filled with treats!
• Global Exchange Look out for the Easter Action Trio ($18.95) containing three bars of Divine chocolate, a cute knitted bunny woven by members of a women’s cooperative in Peru, a bundle of Fair Trade Easter Action Coloring Postcards (to send directly to World’s Finest Chocolate asking them to source Fair Trade chocolate) and a Quick Chocolate Fact Postcard.
• Ithaca Fine Chocolates. Five “art bars” for $12.95.
• Alter Eco. From $3.79 a bar.
• Sweet Earth Organic Chocolates - lovely Easter bunnies and Easter gifts available, from $1.50 for a small bunny, $16.50 for a box of Easter truffles.

Brands to avoid include: Hersheys, Mars, M&M, Dove, Nestle, Hargen-Darz, Godiva, Lindt, Ghiradelli and Dagoba. These brands may have some “ethically sourced” marketing ploys, but all have failed to commit to Fair Trade and Child Labor laws.