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The discovery of unpaid child labor and slavery in the chocolate industry is reportedly making kids cry — but not for the slaves.
Dutch chocolate brand Tony’s Chocolonely was forced to publicly apologize after angry parents complained about an un-inclusive and “patronizing” stunt that reportedly snuffed their kids’ holiday cheer — when their treat-filled Advent calendar was left empty on Day 8 in an attempt to highlight slave labor and worker abuse within the global industry.
Human rights advocacy is the main tenet of the Amsterdam-based fair-trade chocolatier, the Twitter profile for which reads “Together we’ll make 100% slave free the norm in chocolate.” Since Dec. 1, it’s engaged its followers on social media with an Advent countdown.
“Happy day 8 Choco Fans! Noticed something different in your calendar today?” the company posted on Dec. 8. “Yep, it’s empty … And why? ‘Cos at Tony’s we use our products to tell the story of the choco industry – an industry unequally divided and choc-full of inequality.”
Indeed, at least 2.1 million children work on cocoa farms in the Ivory Coast and Ghana, according to a 2018 chocolate industry monitoring report by the US Department of Labor.
Tony’s continued, “Just like our bars are unequally divided, so too is our calendar.” They also noted that, despite the void on Day 8, the calendar still includes 25 chocolates total, with double the drops on Dec. 9 and 24. “We’ll make it up to you other days! … That’s the benefit of an unequally divided calendar.”
“We hope this creates a great conversation starter for change,” Tony’s concluded. “And if you have any questions, pop ’em below.”
Parents certainly popped off.
Many applauded the move, agreeing that it provided a good opportunity for parents and their young kids to talk about injustice. “We were confused this morning but it did trigger an important conversation with my 4 & 6 year olds,” one Twitter mom said. “Which to my pride and surprise they seemed to understand.”
Another added, “This sparked a great conversation with my 5 and 8 year olds about the chocolate industry, wealth, privilege and lack of it. They totally got it after initial disgruntlement. Brilliant!”
But for some children, the shock of missing an Advent prize gave way to the tears that even a little worldly perspective could not dry. As one critic decried, “How cruel an idea!!! My kids were absolutely gutted this morning. Yes they are spoilt little rich kids in your eyes, but it is a s–tty way to highlight it.”
Acknowledging the need to talk about such difficult topics, another parent suggested that a children’s Advent calendar — often unwrapped first thing every morning — may not be an ideal setting for activism. They wrote on Facebook, “Calendars are for children and tears before school is not ideal. If you want to make a statement, advise [the calendar is] for adults/older children only.”
But the trick was especially troubling for neurodivergent customers, many of whom pointed out that some children (and adults) with autism spectrum disorder or cognitive disabilities may be triggered by the upset in routine and expectations. Wrote one, “Soooo glad I didn’t buy for my autistic son. I get the reason why but think wrong not to pre warn.”
Some simply did not appreciate being “patronized,” and “don’t feel I need to be taught a lesson by my advent calendar.”
Tony’s Chocolonely has since apologized for how they handled the advocacy campaign in an email to customers, the Daily Mail reported. “We have more to learn in considering how we can make our products as inclusive as possible,” the company wrote on Facebook. “On this occasion we failed to make our calendar more accommodating, so we wanted to face up to that and acknowledge our mistake.”
At least one parent came to their defense: “It’s really not a mistake, some people need to stop being so precious and think of the bigger picture.”
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