Cocoa ethics: questions about child labour and social sustainability

Over the past twenty years, much work has been dedicated to improving labour standards in cocoa production, with the aim of weeding out child labour. Nevertheless, the latest survey of child labour in cocoa in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, comparing data from 2008/09, 2013/14 and 2018/19, shows no significant reduction in the overall prevalence of children working longer hours than permitted or doing hazardous work. While policy and industry actors ponder strategies to make cocoa production and consumption more ethical, there is still a long way to go. This blog delves into the survey report to shine a light on changes hidden beneath the regional findings, and in doing so reflects on how these changes sit with orthodox ideas about harmful work and children’s rights.