Child labor Policy

Background and aims

The International Labour Organization states that child labor violates basic human rights.

It has been proven that household poverty is closely associated with child labor (source: ILO (International Labour Organization)). By keeping children out of school, any chance of social mobility is made all the less likely. As most of the cocoa in West Africa is produced by smallholders, households must deal with the realities of rural poverty, as well as difficulties accessing quality education due to a lack of local infrastructure.
The International Labour Organization uses two standards, both of which have been adopted worldwide and provide the legal basis for the fight against child labor:

Convention 138 on the minimum working age adopted in 1973: the minimum age for admission to employment or work is set at 15 (or 13 for light work). The minimum age for hazardous work is 18.
Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labor, adopted in 1999: states that have ratified the convention must eradicate the worst forms of labor for children under the age of 18, including all forms of slavery or similar practices such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom, and forced or compulsory labor.

It is up to the international community to ensure that these standards are applied, by exercising due diligence in global supply chains.

In West Africa (and the world's two leading cocoa-producing countries, Ghana and Ivory Coast, in particular), the NGO International Cocoa Initiative estimates that 1.56 million children are forced to work alongside their families. Forced labor is less widespread but remains a real risk in these countries.

At Valrhona, we are aware of this major issue and have decided to anchor our actions in the power of the collective and take a stand within the fair trade ecosystem to fight child labor.

A collective commitment

Membership of the ICI – International Cocoa Initiative

In 2017, Valrhona became a member of the NGO International Cocoa Initiative which works in Ghana and Ivory Coast.
This NGO strives to secure a better future for children in cocoa-producing communities. It has tested and rolled out solutions for Child Labor Monitoring and Remediation Systems (CLMRS).
The priority is to apply these solutions to our West African supplies, which are the most at-risk.

Valrhona's commitments and actions

HUMAN RIGHTS RISK MAPPING
Our risk mapping on Human Rights, including child labor, is updated regularly to ensure better management with our partners.
DEVELOPMENT OF CHILD LABOR MONITORING AND REMEDIATION SYSTEMS (CLMRS) IN THE MOST AT-RISK COUNTRIES
The Child Labor Monitoring and Remediation System (CLMRS) method developed by the NGO ICI uses liaison officers in villages to identify child laborers. The aim is to raise families’ awareness and offer children activities outside of work so that, little by little, they can get back to school and the NGO can monitor progress. Our partners implement this methodology and report directly to the ICI. By working continually with producers and families, Valrhona aims to make sure that there is zero child labor on the cocoa farms.

children during the renovation of a school in Côte d'Ivoire

Key performance indicators for 2030

100% of countries

will be covered by a human rights mapping tool that identifies countries at risk of child labor.

100% countries showing risks of child labor

will be covered by a Child Labor Monitoring and Remediation System (CLMRS) that has been approved by a third party.

Our progress 2024

Human Rights Risk Mapping

To better guide our actions and prioritize our interventions, we have collaborated with an independent consultant, Greenflex, to update a Human Rights risk mapping (initially conducted in 2017). Specific action plans will be developed, accompanied by a deployment plan in our most at-risk origins.

Implementing a Child Labor Monitoring and Remediation System (SSRTE)

Since 2023, we have been financially supporting the ICI method's CLMRS of our partners in Ivory Coast and Ghana to deploy this procedure across all the communities in our sourcing areas.