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 Starbucksโ hot cocoa products that were labeled โmade with ethically sourced cocoaโ as well as a statement that the company โpurchases cocoa that is grown in an ethical and transparent way.โ
In addition, Myers alleges that she purchased a Mars Dove dark chocolate bar labeled as โtraceable from the farms into their factory.โ
The class action lawsuit claims she also bought Quaker Oatsโ Chocolate Chip Chewy Bars with a label reading โsupports sustainably sourced cocoa through Cocoa Horizonsโ and โCocoa Horizons aims to improve the livelihood of cocoa farmers and their communities through the promotion of sustainable farming practices.โ
However, the plaintiff says that the defendantsโ chocolate is the product of unethical child and slave labor in West Africa.
โDefendantsโ labeling misleads consumers into believing their products are procured in accordance with socially and/or environmentally responsible standards, when they know they are not,โ according to the Starbucks class action lawsuit.
Myers claims she was misled by the misrepresentations on the defendantsโ product packaging about their ethical sourcing, traceability and environmentally procurement of their cocoa.ย
The plaintiff notes that had she been aware of the misrepresentations, she would not have purchased the defendantsโ 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.
โChildren on Ivorian cocoa plantations are subjected to what the International Labor Organization (ILO) terms the โWorst Forms of Child Laborโ โ including trafficking, slavery, and exposure to toxic chemicals and hazardous tools,โ 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 โaudacityโ to put false statements on their products, such as โethically sourcedโ and that the cocoa is โtraceableโ from the farms to the factory, and that the companiesโ support โsustainably sourced cocoa.โ
โThese statements stand in stark contrast with reality,โ 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: โAll United States residents who purchased Defendantsโ Products marked with the โethically sourcedโ, โtraceabilityโ or โsustainableโ claims within the United States from the period of four years prior to the filing of this Complaint to the present.โ
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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356 thoughts onStarbucks, Mars, Quaker Class Action Alleges Unethical Child Labor
Child labor is bad add me