Trade Aid can prove its chocolate is slave free because it is part of a fair trade system which is both socially responsible and transparent.

We buy our cocoa and sugar from producer-owned co-operatives which are focused on improving the lives of their members. We know which cooperatives our cocoa beans and sugar comes from, we know they are all certified and therefore audited by an independent organisation to ensure they follow accepted production standards. These standards prohibit the use of slaves or bonded labour, or of work being carried out by children which would interfere with their education.

The proof that other NZ companies are not slave free is simply that they themselves don’t know. They don’t know what plantations they buy from, as they buy at auctions and from cocoa boards. Through these centralised buying processes the companies can’t trace the beans, which is convenient for them as they then can’t be held accountable for participating in the slavery that exists within their industry. However when a problem is endemic in an industry, lack of traceability is a big problem.