Pope Francis has said that “every person ought to have the awareness that purchasing is always a moral – and not simply an economic act.”
This is a challenge for all consumers and especially for those who stand for justice for trafficked and exploited workers.
We know that cocoa is a key ingredient of chocolate and that many children in West Africa are enslaved to pick the cocoa beans. They will never taste the delicious chocolate their slavery helps produce.
We can make a difference when we purchase only slavery-free chocolate to ensure no enslaved children were involved in its production.
This is a good time to plan to arrange an Easter raffle in your community, school, parish or other place of ministry with the prize being slavery free chocolate.
To buy slavery-free Easter chocolate look for any of the following three certification symbols on the wrappers: FAIRTRADE, Rainforest Alliance and UTZ. It’s delicious and you can buy it at most leading supermarkets and shops. If your supermarket doesn’t stock slavery-free chocolate, be an advocate for justice and ask the store manager to order in slavery-free products.
