People don't realize that child labour or slavery – including that of kidnapped children sold to plantation owners across international borders – is a likely ingredient in their chocolate, especially if it involves cocoa beans originating in West Africa.
Not all child work is considered labour, but a child cocoa labourer may be kept out of school to do physically harmful work, such as carrying heavy loads (often on the head), using dangerous tools such as machetes and handling harmful substances, such as pesticides.
Despite efforts to stop it, child labour has only increased in recent years. In Ivory Coast, for example, child worker numbers in cocoa grew 51 per cent to 1.3 million between 2009 and 2014.
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Click on the image above to read about everything you will eat, wear, use and throw out in your lifetime.
Armando and the Blue Tarp School by
Armando and his father are trash-pickers in Tijuana, Mexico, but when Señor David brings his "school"--a blue tarp set down near the garbage dump--to their neighborhood, Armando's father decides that he must attend classes and learn.
Food by
Read 'Food' to discover how food gets from a farm to the grocery store. Learn how food waste can be recycled, the benefits of buying food that is grown locally, and how to reduce your own food waste.
I Like, I Don't Like by
Children have different reactions to the same object due to their circumstances.
My Chocolate Bar and Other Foods by
My Chocolate Bar & Other Foods explores the problems faced by farmers and people around the world who produce food, and the environmental problems associated with growing certain products. Case studies show how fair trade projects are helping people achieve better working conditions and a fair price for growing chocolate and other products such as bananas, tea, peanuts, sugar, and honey.
One Hen by
Kojo, a poor boy in Ghana, finds a way out of poverty and helps others do the same after he is given a small loan and buys a hen.
Think Fair Trade First by
Stella & Henry are on a mission to find the perfect birthday gift for their mother. With the help of Aunt Mabel, the two children discover the world of Fair Trade & learn about how shopping wisely can help improve many people’s lives around the world.
Twenty-Two Cents by
A biography of Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, who from a young age was determined to make difference in the world and eventually revolutionized global antipoverty efforts by developing the innovative economic concept of micro-lending. Includes an afterword and author's sources
There are 152 million child labourers in the world today.
That's nearly 10% of the world's children over the age of 5.
There is a chance you could be connected to child labour through the things you buys.
Click on the image above to lean about the work of World Vision in helping put an end to child labour.
Log into www.getepic.com/students
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Create your own avatar and profile then EXPLORE the FAIRTRADE collection.
Workers’ Day is a holiday that honours all workers. It is celebrated on the first of May in many countries. On this day, workers of all kinds have the day off. Those who fought for workers’ rights are remembered. Please click on the image above to read more about this special day.
