Nestle Class Action Says Chocolate Comes From Child Slave Labor

A Nestle class action lawsuit alleges that the candy company uses child slave labor to produce its chocolate, despite claims that its products are sustainably sourced.

Plaintiff Renee Walker says she purchased Nestle products labeled with “Nestle Cocoa Plan,” and other labels including “UTZ certified” and “Sustainably Sourced.”

Allegedly, the chocolate also bore labels that claimed that the products and the company “support farmers for better chocolate” and “improve the lives of cocoa famers.”

The Nestle class action claims Walker relied on these representations when making her purchasing decision. She says that had she known that these representations were not true, she would not have purchased the products or would not have paid as much for them.

She claims that Nestle misrepresents its chocolate and argues that she and many other consumers were financially injured by this misrepresentation. She seeks damages on behalf of herself and all other similarly affected consumers,

The Nestle class action lawsuit alleges that Nestle sources chocolate from the Côte D’Ivoire, which relies heavily on child labor and slavery. Walker says Nestle has long been aware of this fact.

According to the Nestle chocolate class action, children on Ivorian cocoa plantations are subjected to what the International Labor Organization (ILO) calls the “Worst Forms of Child Labor.” Allegedly, this includes trafficking, slavery, and exposure to toxic chemical sand hazardous tools.

To support her claim that Nestle is aware of the conditions inflicted upon the child slaves who work to produce Nestle chocolate, Walker notes that in 2001, Nestle signed the Harkin-Engel Protocol that signifies its “commitment to eradicating the Worst Forms of Child Labor in West Africa,” a pledge which involved a promise to “develop and implement credible, mutually acceptable, voluntary, industry-wide standards of public certification” to ensure that cocoa beans were grown and processed without these forms of child labor by July 2005.

However, Walker says these claims were not in line with the company’s actions — according to a 2015 study conducted by Tulane University, the number of Ivorian children engaged in the “Worst Forms of Child Labor” on coca plantations increased substantially between 2009 and 2014.

Allegedly, Nestle’s protocol in the Ivory Coast do not follow sustainable environmental protocols despite the company’s advertisements to the contrary. Additionally, the Nestle class action lawsuit states that the company has no protocol to prevent the production of cocoa on protected lands.

Walker claims that Nestle’s false advertising does not stop there, because Nestle’s cocoa production is not sustainable for the environment or for the people it affects.

Allegedly, “the social prong of sustainability entails that a company is working towards developing structures which meet the needs of its current members, but also ensure the ability of future generations to maintain a healthy community.”

The plaintiff says Nestle claims to use sustainable practices, even ones that are socially sustainable, but does not adhere to these practices. Walker claims that the “Cocoa Plan,” a central piece in Nestle’s sustainability marketing, is a sham.

Walker is represented by Helen Zeldes, Amy Johnsgard, and Ben Travis of Coast Law Group LLP, Paul Hoffman, Catherine Sweetser, and John Washington of Schobrun Seplow Harris & Hoffman LLP, Michael R. Reese, George V. Granade, and Carlos F. Ramirez of Reese LLP, and by Terrence P. Collingsworth of International Rights Advocates.

The Nestle Chocolate Child Slave Labor Class Action Lawsuit is Renee Walker v. Nestle USA Inc., Case No. 3:19-cv-00723-L-KSC, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

Read More Lawsuit & Settlement News

Tylenol Class Action Says Rapid Release Gels Work Slower Than Regular Pills

Hurricane Florence Flood Insurance Payouts Approach $600M in North Carolina

PowerBar Class Action Says Clean Whey Protein Bars Falsely Advertised

Patient Says Parietex Hernia Mesh Implant Design Defect Caused Injury