Big Chocolate: Child Slavery in the Cocoa Industry

Dick Marty was a Swiss Parliamentarian and former state prosecutor. In 2015, Marty led the Swiss Coalition for Corporate Justice (SCCJ), an alliance of Switzerland-based NGOs, in launching the Responsible Business Initiative (RBI) campaign. The proposed initiative aimed to introduce legal requirements for companies to undertake human rights and environmental due diligence under the Federal Constitution. If passed, corporations based in Switzerland could face legal risks for violations committed abroad. Numerous large corporations adamantly opposed the RBI, including Swiss cocoa giant Nestl . The company had been at the center of multiple lawsuits and investigations, accused of aiding and abetting the enslavement of child laborers on cocoa plantations in West African countries since the 1990s. Yet, despite multiple efforts to reform Nestl 's supply chain, the child slavery problem persisted. In November 2020, the RBI was narrowly rejected in a national referendum. Marty and the SCCJ pondered how they could strive for corporate accountability in Switzerland. This case delves into concepts of business ethics, business law, corporate accountability, supply chain management, and modern slavery risks in global business environments. Students will explore the complex and pervasive issue of child labour in the global cocoa supply chain, discussing how and why the problem remains, despite broad public pressure, national and international laws, and even companies' own commitments to eradicating child labour. This case will encourage students to contemplate the problem of child slavery and accountability of multinational cocoa giants from diverse stakeholder perspectives.