Jugend Eine Welt: There are already fair producers who act against child labor without a supply chain law.
Vienna (OTS) – What would an Easter basket be without chocolate bunnies? For many people, it’s probably only half the joy of the holiday. Anyone who puts chocolatey sweets in their loved ones’ nests should definitely keep one thing in mind: the bunny should be a fair one. No “children’s hands” must have been involved in the manufacturing process. When it comes to products bearing the fair trade seal of quality, consumers can already trust that the producers have taken care. Without being obliged to do so by the supply chain law, which is not yet in force.
“I would like to thank all members of the Standing Committee of the EU Member States who have now agreed to the Due Diligence Directive,” says Reinhard Heiserer, Managing Director of the Austrian aid organization Jugend Eine Welt, with regard to the decisions on the European Supply Chain Act made last Friday. “The new law should ban everyday products that contain child labor, exploitation, environmental pollution, disregard for human rights or corruption from domestic shelves,” emphasizes Heiserer. Even if, contrary to the original plan, the supply chain law has now only been passed in a weaker form and only a few large companies in Austria will be subject to its application, this is still the decisive impetus that “can get the economy to take action against child labor and for environmental protection to enter.”
Consumers continue to demand
Nevertheless, consumers continue to be required to make sure that their purchases are fairly produced and traded. Especially when it comes to goods from product groups that have long been known to still not be manufactured fairly, despite all efforts. Such as cocoa, coffee, clothing, palm oil.
According to research by the ILO (UN International Labor Organization), for example, cocoa is still often produced through exploitative child labor in 7 countries. These include the two West African countries Ivory Coast and Ghana, which are considered the largest cocoa producers in the world. According to a 2021 study by the NORC research institute at the University of Chicago, 1.48 million child laborers work to produce cocoa beans in these two countries alone.
Chocolate is catching on
The example of Jugend Eine Welt cooperation partner Zotter, the well-known Styrian chocolate manufacturer, shows what responsible producers have long been able to do voluntarily. The entire company is Fair Trade verified (according to the criteria of the World Fair Trade Organization) and uses its own, independent fair logo because, for example, raw material suppliers are paid better than world market prices and there is regular, direct contact with cocoa farmers.
For over a year, 50 cents per bar of the “Chocolate Banana” variety sold have been going towards the joint “Chocolate Makes School” project. Money that is used to finance school lunches for around 770 children in the schools of the Youth One World project partners on site in Madagascar, which is characterized by severe poverty. At the end of 2023, 80,000 chocolate banana bars had already been sold – making the proud sum of 40,000 euros in “food money”. The “Chocolate goes to school” variety is available from specialist retailers Jugend Eine Welt online shop (jugendeinewelt.at/shop) and available directly from Zotter. There are of course other fair “Easter chocolate” to pick up there.
With scribble power against child labor
In addition to supporting disadvantaged children and young people, Jugend Eine Welt has long been committed to fair trade and against abusive child labor. For example, with the “Stop Child Labor” initiative together with the partner organizations Epiphany Campaign of the Catholic Youth Group, Kindernothilfe Austria, Solidar Austria, Fairtrade Austria and Butterfly Rebels. The next campaign will start soon: selected drawings from the hands-on campaign “Kritzelkraft against child labor”, in which around 400 children put their ideas of a world free of child labor on paper, will be shown on posters across Austria.
Questions & Contact:
iV Johannes Wolf
For press and public relations work for Youth One World
johannes.wolf@jugendeinewelt.at; presse@jugendeinewelt.at
0664 30 80 139