Class action claims Oreo, Chips Ahoy parent company perpetuates child labor, slavery

Child labor class action lawsuit overview:

• Who: Plaintiff Megan Waggener Van Meter filed a class action lawsuit against Mondelez International Inc.
• Why: The class action alleges that the Oreo and Chips Ahoy parent company engages in practices that perpetuate child labor and child slavery while falsely claiming its products are “sustainable.”
• Where: The Mondelez class action lawsuit was filed in California federal court.

Snack food giant Mondelez International Inc. engages in practices that perpetuate child labor and child slavery while falsely claiming its products are “sustainable,” according to a child labor class action lawsuit filed Jan. 30 in California federal court.

Mondelez reportedly earned more than $31 billion in revenue in 2022, and some of its most popular products include Oreos, Chips Ahoy, Clif Bars and Toblerone. However, the Mondelez class action lawsuit alleges the company profits by paying local cocoa farmers as little as $3 per day, causing them to resort to child labor and child slavery.

Plaintiff Megan Waggener Van Meter says Mondelez “knows its practices perpetuate child labor and child slavery, yet it nonetheless slaps phony ‘seals’ on its products claiming its cocoa is ‘100% sustainable,’ ‘certified,’ or claiming that it ‘supports’ or ‘helps’ farmers when it knows the opposite is true.”

Van Meter also claims Mondelez’s supply chain has “virtually no environmental standards in place,” and that the chocolate industry has driven deforestation across the Ivory Coast.

Company mislabels products as ‘sustainable’ to entice buyers, Mondelez class action claims

Consumers are willing to pay a premium for sustainable and ethically sourced products, the child slavery class action lawsuit says. Van Meter points to a study showing 60% of consumers would stop purchasing a product if they knew human trafficking or forced labor played a role in its production.

Knowing that consumers are willing to pay more for “sustainable” products, Mondelez markets many of its products as “sustainable” despite the ubiquity of slave labor on the Ivory Coast, the child labor class action alleges. The company also allegedly affixes meaningless seals to its products to mislead consumers into thinking they are ethically sourced when Mondelez is unable to substantiate its claims, the lawsuit argues.

Van Meter alleges she was misled by Mondelez’s representations that its products are procured through fair labor and environmental standards and practices. Had she known that Mondelez’s supply chain relied on unsustainable practices including child slavery, she says she would not have purchased the company’s products.

The child slavery class action lawsuit asserts claims for violations of California’s Consumers Legal Remedies Act, Unfair Competition Law and unjust enrichment.

Another Mondelez class action lawsuit alleges the company sold dark chocolate bars containing toxic heavy metals.

What do you think about the Mondelez child slavery class action lawsuit allegations? Let us know in the comments.

Van Meter is represented by James B. Zouras, Ryan F. Stephan, Justin M. Caparco and Lauren A. Warwick of Stephan Zouras LLP.

The Mondelez child slavery class action lawsuit is Megan Waggener Van Meter v. Mondelez International Inc., et al., Case No. 4:24-cv-00565, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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