The Ethical Warrior - Blog

Recently I travelled to Cebu in the Philippines and had the opportunity to spend time with an outsourcing company, DataMotivate, who are making a real difference in the restoration of the lives of girls who have been trafficked into slavery by providing career opportunities. This way the girls learn to become self-sufficient and to build a career, reducing their vulnerability to being trafficked again.

There was a shock outcome in Thailand last week, when human rights activist, Andy Hall, was found guilty of defamation (a criminal charge in Thailand) and cyber crimes for reporting labour abuse in the fruit canning industry.

Just last week my brother in law forwarded on to me an article he came across while reading the paper in his daily commute, with the headline ‘more than 45 million people trapped in modern slavery…’ more on that here. I’m noticing more and more that people are starting to thinking about it, knowing the work that I do it’s amazing now how many people text me and say ‘I’m in the supermarket aisle, what tea should I buy?’ or I’m tagged on a facebook post ‘Kate Nicholl, should I buy these school polo shirts that are only $3 in target?’

This week we had the pleasure of meeting with Carolyn and Fuzz Kitto, co-directors of the Australian arm of ‘Stop The Traffik’

It has been well reported over the last 15 years that child labour issues are a grave concern in the cocoa supply chain.

Last week we wrote a detailed report on how this came to be an issue, what has been done to date and what the ethical options are for chocolate lovers.This week we want to share an interview with Peter Millard, supply chain manager for Australian chocolate brand Haighs, and their journey to becoming 85% ethically certified in their sourcing of cocoa – a massive achievement in the face of a very challenging and complex global issue.