Valentines Day: what to buy and what not to buy

*Disclaimer: All allegations are unproven, and any statements should be taken as speculation. This advice is for those who do not want to risk the chance of supporting these companies should the allegations be true.

With Valentine's Day coming up, I thought it would be a good idea to remind people of what products to buy and what products to stay away from when buying for their significant other.

I started off by looking at chocolate brands, one of the most common Valentine’s gifts. I knew straight away to look into Mars, Hershey, and Nestlé, as these companies have had multiple severe allegations of enabling child labour and child slavery within Africa, specifically on the Ivory Coast. Despite there being many very credible allegations from numerous sources over the past years, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked any form of lawsuit from taking place. This means none of these companies are officially guilty in the eyes of the law, and the credibility of the allegations is up to each individual consumer.

Child slavery and labour exploitation is a huge issue in the cocoa industry and can be incredibly harmful to children. They are often required to handle pesticides and other chemicals without protective gear, as well as working with dangerous equipment like machetes. The child workers are regularly trafficked into farming communities and go for extended periods of time without pay, sometimes never getting compensation for their work. Despite knowing these things about cocoa farms to be recorded facts, the real allegations come to whether brands get cocoa from this type of farm, and if the brands are knowledgeable of any actions happening on their farms. Without internal investigation, this will never be proven and will remain an allegation.

Chocolate brands owned by Mars, Hershey, and Nestlé include M&Ms, Mars Bars, Milky Ways, Snickers, Twix, Hershey Bars, Kisses, Reece's Pieces, KitKats, and Smarties, among others. There is a good chance that any of these products could have cocoa harvested with child labour if the allegations are indeed correct about the workings and operations of their cocoa farms.

Unfortunately, this rocky road doesn’t stop there. Whittaker’s chocolates may have ethically sourced cocoa, but in 2019 they admitted to using sugar from Thailand, which is known to have child labour in their sugar cane industry. I couldn’t find more about their specific farming practices, so this remains speculative, but is a risk each consumer has to consider. Cadbury, owned by Mondelez, faces the same child slavery allegations as Mars, Hershey, and Nestlé, with cocoa coming out of the Ivory Coast. That means you will want to reconsider buying a box of Cadbury’s Favourites or Roses if you believe said allegations.

Now you might be thinking, what chocolates can you buy without the worry of potential practices here in New Zealand? To answer that, I would point to none other than Hogarth Chocolate. A New Zealand-based company with a factory in Nelson, Hogarth uses 100% ethically sourced cocoa and is not affiliated with any major chocolate brands which have alleged involvement in the cocoa slave industrial system. Hogarth Chocolate is available at select New Worlds and other stores (listed on their website), or you can buy directly from their website. To find other ethically sourced chocolate brands, I would recommend visiting https://www.slavefreechocolate.org/. This site lists provably slavery free brands and asks each company for information and proof on where they get 100% of their cocoa from.

As a whole, roses and flowers are quite a safe bet. Although subject to a lot of price gouging in the Valentine’s season due to high demand and consumers willing to continue the tradition of a dozen roses, the practices of their growth is quite ordinary and ethically practised. Another recommended gift is to book a meal at a local restaurant to support small businesses. Whether it’s breakfast, lunch, or dinner, going out with your partner will be a nice way to show love on Valentine's Day. At the red traffic light level, restaurants all have limits of 100 people at an establishment, so it’s good to book early if you want a seat at some highly demanded establishments, with some likely already getting close to full bookings.

All in all, it’s up to you as a consumer to decide what you believe, and to use your dollar to represent that. I would recommend buying local chocolate brands anyway, as it's very important to support local businesses during the economic struggles of the pandemic. Do what you feel is best to spend time and show love to your partners, and have a good Valentine's Day.