Americans are the leading world consumers of chocolate . The U . S . chocolate industry is heavily dominated by Hershey ’ s , Nestlé and Mars , who control most of the market . Unfortunately , these companies fall into the category of those companies who use large amounts of Côte d ’ Ivoire cocoa , meaning that their products can be made with up to 90 % slave-produced cocoa .
Hershey Foods Corp ., the US ’ s largest chocolate-maker , says it is “ shocked ” and “ deeply concerned ” that its products ( such as Hershey ’ s Kisses , Nuggets , Hershey chocolate bars and Reese ’ s Peanut Butter Cups ,) are made with cocoa produced by child slaves . The company , which has a long history of involvement with children , says it is deeply embarrassed by revelations of indirect involvement with child slavery . Hershey Foods is affiliated with a school for orphaned and disadvantaged children which was established in 1909 by company founder Milton S . Hershey and his wife Catherine . However , Hershey still uses child slavery .
The Milton Hershey School Trust , which funds the school , owns controlling interest in The Hershey Company and owns the Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company ( HERCO ) which oversees many hotels along with a theme park called Hersheypark . With over six billion dollars in assets , the Milton Hershey School is one of the wealthiest schools in the world .
Nestlé is also one of the richest companies on earth . Go to page 25 for more information and why people boycott Nestlé .
Hershey ’ s , Nestlé , and Mars are not alone . ( A buying guide is on page 24 of this booklet .) While these companies have issued condemnations of slavery , and expressed a great deal of ‘ outrage ’ that it exists in the industry , they have acknowledged that they use Côte d ’ Ivoire cocoa and so have no grounds to ensure consumers that their products are slavery-free . Companies like Mars , Hershey , and Nestlé often say that there is no way they can control the labor practices of their suppliers . But there are other chocolate companies who manage to do so , and if the bigger companies really wanted to reform problems in the supply chain , they have the power and ability to do so .
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