Starbucks, Mars, Quaker Class Action Alleges Unethical Child Labor

A class action lawsuit has been filed against Starbucks Corporation, Mars Inc., and the Quaker Oats Company alleging unethical chocolate production methods.

Plaintiff Lori Myers says she purchased Starbucks’ hot cocoa products that were labeled “made with ethically sourced cocoa” as well as a statement that the company “purchases cocoa that is grown in an ethical and transparent way.”

In addition, Myers alleges that she purchased a Mars Dove dark chocolate bar labeled as “traceable from the farms into their factory.”

The class action lawsuit claims she also bought Quaker Oats’ Chocolate Chip Chewy Bars with a label reading “supports sustainably sourced cocoa through Cocoa Horizons” and “Cocoa Horizons aims to improve the livelihood of cocoa farmers and their communities through the promotion of sustainable farming practices.”

However, the plaintiff says that the defendants’ chocolate is the product of unethical child and slave labor in West Africa.

“Defendants’ labeling misleads consumers into believing their products are procured in accordance with socially and/or environmentally responsible standards, when they know they are not,” according to the Starbucks class action lawsuit.

Myers claims she was misled by the misrepresentations on the defendants’ product packaging about their ethical sourcing, traceability and environmentally procurement of their cocoa. 

The plaintiff notes that had she been aware of the misrepresentations, she would not have purchased the defendants’ products.

In addition, Starbucks, Mars, and Quaker are allegedly aware that cocoa farming in West Africa relies on child labor and slavery, according to the plaintiff.

“Children on Ivorian cocoa plantations are subjected to what the International Labor Organization (ILO) terms the ‘Worst Forms of Child Labor’ – including trafficking, slavery, and exposure to toxic chemicals and hazardous tools,” states the Starbucks class action lawsuit.

Myers claims that the vast majority of cocoa sourced in West Africa comes from untraceable farms where child and slave labor is a common practice.

The plaintiff also states that besides knowing the cocoa is manufactured with unethical work methods, the defendants have the “audacity” to put false statements on their products, such as “ethically sourced” and that the cocoa is “traceable” from the farms to the factory, and that the companies’ support “sustainably sourced cocoa.”

“These statements stand in stark contrast with reality,” claims the Quaker Oats class action lawsuit.

Ethical sourcing is commonly known to mean that fair labor standards are met while the products are manufactured, the plaintiff states. In addition, this term involves paying fair wages to laborers who are involved during any stage of the development of the product, ensuring hygienic and safe conditions, as well as making sure that no child works to produce cocoa.

Nestle is also the defendant in a class action lawsuit brought by individuals with similar claims.

Prospective Class Members include: “All United States residents who purchased Defendants’ Products marked with the ‘ethically sourced’, ‘traceability’ or ‘sustainable’ claims within the United States from the period of four years prior to the filing of this Complaint to the present.”

Did you purchase chocolate products from one of these companies believing it was ethically produced? Leave a message in the comments section below.

The plaintiff is represented by Helen I. Zeldes, Ben Travis, Paul L. Hoffman, John C. Washington, and Catherine E. Sweetser of Schonbrun Seplow Harris Hoffman & Zeldes and Terrence P. Collingsworth of International Rights Advocates.

The Starbucks Cocoa Child Labor Class Action Lawsuit is Lori Myers v. Starbucks Corporation, et al., Case No. 5:20-cv-00335, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

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