Nestlé uses FLA to find child labour in cocoa chain

Nestlé is to allow the Fair Labor Association (FLA) to investigate its Ivory Coast cocoa supply chain for the presence of child labour.

The Swiss multinational has taken the unusual step as part of its bid to become the first food company to join the FLA, the non-profit body that includes apparel groups such as Adidas, Nike and Puma.

The FLA will support Nestlé in eliminating any child labour found in the supply chain, and will advise on tackling the root causes. Nestlé says the exercise will guide its operations in the Ivory Coast, from whose 800,000 cocoa farms it buys most of its cocoa.

José Lopez, Nestlé’s executive vice-president of operations, said: “Child labour has no place in our supply chain. We cannot solve the problem on our own but, by working with a partner like the FLA, we can make sure our efforts to address it are targeted where they are needed most.”

FLA president Auret van Heerden said the approach marked a shift from policing suppliers to discovering the deeper problems. “We can help build up the capacity on the ground in the Ivory Coast to deal with issues we find, and then measure whether the remedial efforts are working,” he said.

Although Nestlé may encounter trouble with the country’s authorities over perceived Western political interference, farming co-operatives in the Ivory Coast, the world’s largest exporter of cocoa, have been largely supportive. Assessment begins this spring.

The decision is an extension of Nestlé’s wider Cocoa Plan for professionalising sustainable cocoa farming and ensuring the education of children in the industry.