The American candy-makerMars reiterated plans to eliminate child labor from its supply chains after a CBS News investigation found the company was working with small farms that used child labor to harvest some of the cocoa found in products like M&M's and Snickers.
According to CBS News, children as young as five years old were using machetes to harvest cocoa beans that ended up in some of America’s favorite candies despite pledges by the company to end the use of child labor in its supply chain by 2025. The investigation also found that field supervisors regularly lied on their paperwork and claimed children were attending school when they were actually working in cocoa fields.
Mars is “urgently investigating” the claims made by CBS, adding that the company is ready to take action against any supplier that does not comply with Mars’s code of conduct, according to CNBC.
“To be clear, we condemn the use of child labor. It has no place in our supply chain, and we are committed to helping eradicate it, which is why we have a robust Protecting Children Action Plan in place that is backed by a significant financial investment,” a spokesperson told CBS News.
The report was released around the same time that a lawsuit was filed against Mars, Cargill and Toblerone-maker Mondelez accusing the companies of negligent supervision as well as consumer fraud tied to child labor usage in their supply chains. The U.S. Supreme Court dismissed a similar case in 2021 that aimed to hold Cargill and Nestle USA accountable for child slavery on African farms that supplied the organizations with cocoa.
