"Nestle signed an agreement in 2001 aimed at ending the use of child labour on cocoa farms"
BBC
News reported that Nestle was unable to keep to its promise of addressing child
labor . Likewise, the 2015 report of Fair Labor Association
expresses that child labor on Ivory Coast farms where Nestle sources its cocoa
is still evident . To make matters worse, the company made an
admission about the modern slavery and child labor in its supply chain in
Thailand where the company sources its seafood products. In
relation to all these, a group of consumers filed a class suit against Nestle
for failing to inform consumers that the chocolate products that the company
produces may contain cocoa from child labor.
The
most affected by child labor are apparently the child laborers. Nestle has
given farmers motivation to put children in child labor in order to get cocoa
at a very low cost . Since child labor happens in farms that are
part of Nestle’s supply chain, Nestle’s business practice is unethical, for it
embraces utilitarianism.
As the children are duped into working in the cocoa
farms without pay apart from being brutally treated, Kantianism would likewise find
the practice unethical. The same holds true for consumers who are deceived into
believing that child labor is not used in producing the chocolate products of
Nestle that they consume .
References:
Hawksley, H. (2012). Nestle 'failing' on child
labour abuse, says FLA report. BBC News. Retrieved from
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-18644870
Clarke, S. (2015). Child labour on Nestlé farms:
chocolate giant's problems continue. The Guardian. Retrieved from
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/sep/02/child-labour-on-nestle-farms-chocolate-giants-problems-continue
Kelly, A. (2016). Nestlé admits slavery in
Thailand while fighting child labour lawsuit in Ivory Coast. The Guardian.
Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2016/feb/01/nestle-slavery-thailand-fighting-child-labour-lawsuit-ivory-coast
Nieburg, O. (2018). Nestle sued
again for allegedly using child and slave labor to make chocolate.
Confectionery News.com. Retrieved from
https://www.confectionerynews.com/Article/2018/02/13/Nestle-sued-again-over-child-labor-in-cocoa-supply-chain
