Mainstream chocolate typically comes from cocoa plantations in developing countries where workers are exploited and earn a pittance. Many plantations further resort to child labour to provide competitive prices, exploiting those who are forced to work at a young age in order to support their families. I have heard that some children are “sold” to cocoa plantations by relatives, while others are told that the job provides adequate income. These children are subjected to dangerous work conditions that include prolonged exposure to pesticides without protective clothing; heavy, dangerous equipment, whose use violates international labour laws; and even physical abuse. Child labourers are also typically denied access to education, which then continues this cycle of poverty. Camino chocolate comes from cocoa that is grown and harvested by small-scale family farmers in the South. Farmers who work their own land and are part of a co-operative in their regional area. These farmers have an...

Photo credit: Merissa Mueller Recap: Merissa attends Sustainable Business Conference on Friday February 11th, in order to finally prevail over her siblings during a dinner table discussion regarding globalization. She learns plenty of interesting things about incorporating sustainability into the business workplace and how it is NOT detrimental but beneficial to businesses (example: identifying steps within a product’s life cycle analysis that waste can be limited by remanufacturing/recycling material, saving money and my planet). Furthermore, she eats delicious vegetarian and vegan foods because the conference was catered by Depanneur Sylvestre and finally understands the term “Business Casual”. Overall, Friday was an amazing success and congratulations to the Tefler School of Management for holding such an informative conference featuring some incredibly knowledgeable people. Application: Interestingly enough, the next day I stumbled upon some sustainability in practice, or rather,...