Challenge: Ethical Halloween

“Trick or Treat?!”

Allow me to reminisce and take you on a journey to the‘middle-of-nowhere’ Manitoba where I grew up….

Halloween Win: dressing up as your cat and your mom making your Halloween costume.

Where I grew up was literally the middle of nowhere. Our closestneighbours were miles away and we were the only house down the mile stretch ofroad that could possibly just be considered our massive driveway. Without fail, on Halloween, it was going to snow. Due to the snow, costumes were made to fit over bulky winterjackets and if your costume wasn’t, you had to wear your bulky winter jacketover top to ensure you would actually enjoy your Halloween and not complainabout the cold that would surely overtake you as it progressed further into theevening. Since I grew up in the middle of nowhere, walking from house to house likemost friends did in the town where my school was located was not an option. First off, that’s dangerous when there arebears and coyotes and other wilderness creatures out and about, and second, didI mention the closest neighbours were miles away? My dad would drive us from onehouse to the next and the neighbours we visited would be expecting us—an auntand uncle, my one neighbour I was really good friends with, the house of theteenagers that baby sat us, my parents random friends...  You would get brown paper bags filled withcandy and most of those you would visit had just enough candy for those theywould be expecting. I recall one Halloween where we must have ventured outside our general route and we ended up visiting the house of an elderly individual who just gave usmoney! This venture also included stopping in on people who just moved in whoonly had festive cupcakes to give.

The nostalgia of sleeping bags as your candy collection mechanism,adults making random comments about your costume, and even school Halloweenparties are nothing short of sugary sweet.

However, as I’ve become an adult, the sugary sweetness thatonce coated my Halloween adventure has turned into an exposé on the Trick, andhow the Treat portion is there as a cover-up to make us indulge.

When someone thinks about Halloween, they probably think candy, costumes, parties, pumpkins and good times. When I think of Halloween, I think of those things but also of the underlying issues with the common themesof Halloween... One of those issues, and the biggest if you ask me, is theslavery that goes into producing our night of spooktacular indulgence.

Spooky is right.

According to a recent survey from the National ConfectionersAssociation, 72% of all candy spending this Halloween will be on chocolate. Outof the 10 best selling chocolate brands consumers will be using theirpurchasing power to buy for the trick-or-treaters bombarding their ‘welcome’doormats, either Hershey or Mars owns the brand.

Remember around this time last year when Hershey announcedit was going to commit to sourcing 100% third-party certified cocoa for all ofits chocolate products worldwide by 2020? While that seemed like amajor step in the right direction, it was more of an issue as to why they hadn’tbeen sourcing unethical cocoa to begin with. The company, as part of their Hershey’s 21St CenturyCocoa Plan has set the goal of sourcing 10% by the end of 2013—with 2013 comingto an end, I am surprised I haven’t heard anything about their status onattaining this goal.

According to the website Grist, a 2011Tulane University study found a “projected total of 819,921 children in IvoryCoast and 997,357 children in Ghana worked on cocoa-related activities” in2007-2008. The documentary ‘The Dark Side of Chocolate’ has exposed what‘worked’ really means in that statement; slavery—these children are forced todo the work, are beaten, abused, denied education and are victims of injustice…and, dare I say, victims of first world inhabitants that either lack educationof world issues and everything that goes into what they buy, or are victims ofthose who ARE educated but choose to look the other way and conveniently forgetabout the issues when it comes time to make a purchase.

Mars, similarly to Hershey’s, has a plan in place to source100% Sustainable Cocoa by 2020. Mars is working alongside Rainforest Alliance,UTZ, and FairTrade. By 2014 their goal is to have 35% of their supplysustainably sourced. Better than the 10% we see over at Hershey’s, but I’d stilllike to see some proof this is happening and making a difference. After all,even their Rainforest Alliance certification that graced their chocolate bars inthe past meant that only 30% of the cocoa in the bar you are eating is actuallycertified.

While company information isn’t exactly ‘pull on your heartstrings’ material, I don’t want to regurgitate information I have alreadyshared in previous posts (see Challenge: Ethical Easter for the initialChallenge). I want to bring you something new. Something different from whatmost people are sharing around this time of year…

Your Challenge is to have an Ethical Halloween.

Here is the outline of the challenge and, should you chooseto accept it, it will change the way you look at the candy you see in stores, inyour child’s pillow case when they get home, and will change how you decide touse your purchasing power.

1- Research.

Take 10-15 minutes RIGHT NOW (you’re already on theinternet—why not kill some more time? Pinterest and Facebook can wait) and Googlesome of the stuff I’ve mentioned about child slavery in cocoa.

2- Imagine.

Think about your kids, nieces, nephews, grand kids, friends’kids or even yourself working in the fields in the Ivory Coast of Africa. Whilewe cannot even fathom this concept, and visualizing it is next to impossible,individuals live it every day of their lives.

3- Return.

Now that you are educated and want to make a difference takea look at the chocolate you already bought. It’s hard to believe that childslaves exist and are picking the cocoa that goes into making those minichocolate bars you’ve already bought to hand out on Halloween. Do you stillhave the receipt? If so, return the chocolate to the store. When they ask why,say you don’t want your purchasing power supporting a company that still hasslave labour in their supply chains. There are companies out there that alreadycommit to this standard and your dollars are better spent supporting them.

4- Share.

Share what you’ve learned. I have found the best to reachpeople is to share your story. When I speak I share how I didn’t know whathuman trafficking was a mere few years ago. It’s powerful to know that theperson doing the educating was just like you before they became passionateabout ending injustice. You are the best tool to change the hearts and lives ofthe global community forever—in those you educate in your closest circles tothose companies you give your money to when you buy something.  Tell people why you aren’t handing out theReese’s Peanut Butter Cup Pumpkins, or mini Hershey’s bars. When someone goesagainst the flow, people want to know why. Share and inspire.

While I specifically talk about chocolate, I want you to also know theHalloween Costumes you buy for yourself or your children are possibly also sewn with the sameseams of slavery and injustice. My want for you, first, and foremost, is justfor you to research. Learn about where your goods come from and be an advocatefor change with the money you spend. A dollar spent is your compliance with howa company runs—from the first stop in their supply chain to how it makes it toyour hands.

You can make Halloween a treat for everyone—your friends,kids, and the random strangers dressed as goblins, ghouls, princesses and*insert trendy child costume here* that come to your door, and those in the fields starting the supply chain process. Expose the trickeryand be more like Glinda the Good Witch than the Wicked Witch of the West.