From Ellie Finkelstein, Freedom United 

We know Valentine’s Day is a trying time for us chocoholics—with the allure of rich, velvety chocolate at every turn. But we cannot, in good conscience, allow our cocoa cravings to blind us to the bitter reality of the cocoa industry.  

What if as well as consuming chocolate, we also invested in a better future for cocoa workers, free of modern slavery? One of our monthly donors put it best: “It’s like a tax on my chocolate habit!” 

Pay your cocoa justice tax!

Last year, powered by community donations, we successfully campaigned for new legislation to require companies in Europe to pay farmers a living wage to help stop the use of forced labor.[1] However, the European Commission is already considering weakening its provisions.[2] 

Extreme poverty and lack of financial security creates the perfect conditions for exploitation. A documentary shows just how easily, at one location, unscrupulous planters can buy children arriving on buses trafficked from abroad to work on cocoa farms. We also meet Aziz in the fields who has worked unpaid for 5 years with no opportunity to visit his parents.[3]  

So we’re calling on all fellow chocoholics: If you love chocolate, make sure you are also funding the call for justice. Consider making a monthly gift—your own “justice tax”—to help fight exploitation in the cocoa industry. 

I want fair chocolate!

Your donation will help: 

• Advocate for fair wages: Push for responsible purchasing practices that guarantee living incomes for cocoa farmers. 
• Transform supply chains: Promote transparent, ethical sourcing—ensuring that the benefits of rising global prices reach those who cultivate the cocoa. 
• Combat extreme exploitation: Support initiatives that fight child labor and safeguard human rights in cocoa-growing communities. 

Let’s make this Valentine’s Day truly sweet. Together, we can turn our cravings into change: a future where every cocoa product is made ethically and sustainable. 

Donate

Make every bite of chocolate guilt-free. Pay your justice tax today! 

From one chocoholic to another,  

Ellie and the team supporting the Freedom United community.

[1] https://www.freedomunited.org/our-impact/child-exploitation-cocoa-csddd/

[2] https://kpmg.com/de/en/home/insights/2025/01/omnibus-initiative-to-simplify-crsd-csddd-eu-taxonomy.html
[3]  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPkDc74O_qs