Beyond Good Speaks Out About Child Labor in the Chocolate Industry
The Only Brand in the U.S. Making Chocolate at Source in Africa, Beyond Good Advocates for Fixing a Broken Supply Chain to Address Poverty
Beyond Good, a pioneer in dark chocolate and at-origin production, today commented on Assessing Progress in Reducing Child Labor in Cocoa Production in Cocoa Growing Areas of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, a report compiled by NORC at the University of Chicago funded by the U.S. Department of Labor.
“The real problem in the chocolate industry is poverty. The existing industrial supply chain keeps farmers living in poverty. No top-down protocol addressing symptoms, however egregious they may be, is a quick-fix for poverty.
It doesn’t take a 200-page document and a 20-year protocol to confirm that the system is broken. Until the supply chain is fixed, the talk, the attention, the dollars for band-aid solutions, are just a waste of time and money. Meantime, farmers continue struggling to make a living for their families.”
Beyond Good is the only brand in the U.S. making chocolate at source in Africa. This business model has eliminated all intermediaries in the supply chain, and delivers six times the income for cocoa farmers and 100% traceability for consumers.
According to the World Cocoa Foundation, 70% of the world’s cocoa is grown in Africa; however, less than 1% of the world’s chocolate is produced there. Supply chain fragmentation drives poverty, exploitation, and environmental degradation in cocoa-producing countries. Most farmers earn less than $1 USD a day. The traditional African cocoa supply chain involves three to five layers of intermediaries and requires up to 120 days in transit from farm to factory.
In contrast, there are zero layers of intermediaries in Beyond Good’s supply chain in Madagascar. It takes only ten days for cocoa to become a Beyond Good chocolate bar. Farmers harvest cocoa and transport cocoa beans to the chocolate factory down the road, where the chocolate-making process continues. This model allows farmers to add value and earn six times the industry standard in wages.
“At Beyond Good, we wanted a supply chain we’d be proud of. The only way to get there was to build our own.”
Beyond Good recently announced plans for ongoing cocoa and lemur conservation with The Bristol Zoo. In addition, Beyond Good is included in The 2020 Saveur 100 for its flavor, fairness, and conservation.