Tony’s Chocolonely is a Dutch confectionery company with a serious mission – to make 100% slave-free chocolate the norm. In the last year, Tony’s has sold 36 million bars of chocolate, supporting more than 5,000 farmers.
Tony’s was founded by Teun van de Keuken, a Dutch journalist who launched a crusade against slavery in the chocolate industry on a consumer watchdog show. Teun was shocked to discover that slavery still existed in the cocoa sector and tried to discuss the problem with the large chocolate makers, but they ignored him. So he took action and Tony’s Chocolonely was born with the mission to make 100% slave-free chocolate the norm.
The victims
The latest Tony’s Fair report shows there are 2.5 million farming families in Ghana and the Ivory Coast where 60% of the world’s cocoa is produced. This is also where 2.1 million children are working under illegal conditions because their parents are not paid enough for their cocoa harvest. Worse still, recent studies have confirmed that at least 30,000 people are the victims of modern slavery – both adults and children – who are forced to grow cocoa and don’t get paid for it.
Roadmap to the future
Tony’s recognises that to make 100% slave-free chocolate the norm worldwide, it needs a roadmap to keep its mission on track. To achieve this, the company has created three main pillars for its future work. First, leading by example through investing in long-term partnerships with farmers, and only making Tony’s chocolate with traceable cocoa. Second, to inspire other key players in the industry to take action. Lastly, the company believes in empowering cocoa farmers with a certain level of consciousness about what is and isn’t allowed.
“This story shows how Tony’s Chocolonely supports Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, specifically Target 8.7: “Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour in all its forms.”
About Tony’s Chocolonely
Tony’s Chocolonely is a Dutch confectionary company with a serious mission – to eradicate slave labour from the cocoa industry. It was founded by Teun van de Keuken, a Dutch journalist who launched the crusade against (child) slavery in the chocolate industry on the consumer watchdog show, Keuringsdienst van Waarde.
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