Many people are starting to question the origins of their chocolate for health and ethical reasons. There’s a growing push to stop supporting chocolate brands tied to unethical practices and slave labor. According to 24/7 Wall Street , here are 8 chocolate brands to avoid and why:
America’s Worst Chocolate Is Sold In Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina
7. Lindt
Lindt, a Swiss chocolate company founded in 1845, initially specialized in dark chocolate before expanding to milk chocolate in 1934. It is often marketed as a luxury brand, but many of its premium products contain sugar as the primary ingredient, leading chocolate connoisseurs to view it as overpriced candy rather than high-quality chocolate.
Like others in the industry, Lindt faces criticism for sourcing cocoa from illegal farms in the Ivory Coast and Ghana and lacking full certification for its cocoa sources. In 2022, tests revealed that its dark chocolate contained lead and cadmium levels exceeding U.S. safety limits.
6. Ferrero
Ferrero, the second-largest chocolate producer globally, is an Italian company founded in 1946 by Pietro Ferrero and currently run by family member Giovanni Ferrero. With 18 factories and 40,000 employees, Ferrero produces 365,000 tons of Nutella each year, alongside brands like Baby Ruth, Crunch Bar, and Butterfinger through its Ferrara Candy Company.
Despite its extensive product range, Ferrero faces scrutiny for its ingredients; for example, Butterfinger’s coating is technically not classified as chocolate due to insufficient cocoa content. The company received a D from Green America for its efforts to combat child and slave labor, relying on self-awarded certifications without making substantial progress in tracing its cocoa or improving farming practices.
5. Godiva
Godiva, a Belgian chocolate company owned by Turkey’s Yıldız Holding, once had 128 stores in North America but closed them all due to declining sales, partly from the pandemic. While operating over 650 stores worldwide, most of the chocolate sold in the U.S. is produced in Turkey, despite a factory in Pennsylvania…