Have Fun * Do Good Halloween Chocolate

According to Professional Candy Buyer Magazine, here are the Top 5 Halloween Chocolate Vendors, and what I think are their sales for 4 weeks ending November 6, 2005:

THE HERSHEY CO. $246,451,200
MASTERFOODS USA $157,794,100
NESTLE USA INC $60,222,940
RUSSELL STOVER CANDIES INC. $10,317,960
LINDT & SPRUNGLI USA $4,619,996

As I mentioned in my "Pink M&Ms and Fair Trade" post, Global Exchange reported that:

In 2001, the U.S. State Department, the International Labor Organization and others reported child slavery on many cocoa farms in the Ivory Coast, source of 43% of the world's cocoa. Subsequent research by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture revealed some 284,000 children between the ages of 9 and 12 working in hazardous conditions on West African cocoa farms. Of these children, it was reported that some 12,000 child cocoa workers that had participated in the study were likely to have arrived in their situation as a result of child trafficking.

Improvements have been made, but not to the extent they need to be, so if you're giving out Halloween candy this year, considering giving out Fair Trade Chocolate from Art Bars, Dagoba, Equal Exchange and Divine, or order Global Exchange's Trick or Treat Chocolates ($7.95 for 42 pieces).

I ordered some last year, but no trick o' treaters came to our door so I err, ate them myself . . . I think I went a little over my 8 teaspoons of sugar that day . . .

Update 9/28/10:  Here's a more recent post about Fair Trade chocolate, Nine Fair Trade Chocolate Bars.

chocolate
halloween
fair trade