FreedomUnited.org

Wednesday December 7, 2022

Chocolate companies must pay a living income price for cocoa, says 2022 Cocoa Barometer

Sustainable chocolate won’t become a reality until companies start paying a living income price for cocoa, according to the 2022 Cocoa Barometer. The biennial report, developed by the VOICE Network, which Freedom United is part of, shows that cocoa production continues to cause major social and environmental harm and that current efforts to tackle core issues are failing. Authors Antonie C. Fountain and Friedel Huetz-Adams also explore the role racism and colonial-era dynamics play in the industry. Problems in cocoa persist; some are getting worse The report finds that endemic

Law & Policy

Wednesday November 30, 2022

E.U. Due Diligence: We’re running out of time, but this could be a game changer

Photo credit: Philip Reynaers / Photonews / Justice is Everybody’s Business European leaders are deciding on game-changing rules to stop big business from getting away with exploiting people and destroying the planet. But big business is doing everything it can to keep getting its way. As part of the Justice is Everybody’s Business campaign, we’re calling on you to remind our leaders who they're working for and tell them to put people and planet before profits. The E.U. Due Diligence Directive risks being seriously watered down At the moment, big business is getting away

Anti-slavery activists

Friday October 21, 2022

Open Letter to CBP on Trade Data Transparency

This week, the news broke that a group of major U.S. businesses, including Walmart, General Motors and Intel, as part of the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC), sent a proposal to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) requesting key import data not be publicly disclosed. The following is a joint open letter to the CBP Commissioner calling for the CBP's continued commitment to combating forced labor in global supply chains by rejecting this proposal. October 20, 2022 The Honorable Chris Magnus Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection 1300

Survivor Stories

Tuesday October 11, 2022

Driven out of a shelter because of my mental health issues

Jessie, a trafficking survivor, shares her experiences of living in a shelter Shelters for trafficking survivors in the U.S. are often called “safehouses,” but there was nothing safe about the shelter I lived in. While living there, my medical history was used as a weapon against me. Rather than offering me support, the shelter used my mental health issues as a reason to try at all costs to push me out, even when that meant lying to the police and having them come for me with guns and handcuff me. No confidentiality: my medical records were open for all to see As a

Slavery-Free Goods

Friday October 7, 2022

Eight myths keeping cocoa farmers in poverty

Recent years have seen important developments on the topic of living income for cocoa farmers, and yet, poverty is still a daily reality for virtually all cocoa farmer families in West Africa. If we want to tackle child labor, deforestation and other social and environmental harms associated with the production of cocoa, we must first ensure cocoa farmers are earning a living income. Because as Antonie C. Fountain writes: When farmers must choose between feeding their family, and not cutting down old growth trees, it is not a choice. When they must choose between feeding their family

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