Should we boycott all goods that are made with child labor or slave labor?
Paul: One challenge is that we (consumers) don't know which chocolate (or other product) is produced by child labor. Until a media report surfaces, we have no knowledge.
Is there a reliable way to identify which chocolate (or product) uses child labor?
Paul Stock I do not have an answer to your question. Hmmm. I am diabetic and do not have permission to eat much sweets.
Definitely. However, it is the responsibility of the government institutions to make sure that no such activity is taking place. Consumers are not to be blamed.
Dear Joseph Tham ,
The answer is definitely yes if we were living in a perfect world, but unfortunately we don’t. In terms of child labor, but not slavery, if we look at boycott from the working child’s perspective, a dollar or two a month is a lifeline on which their whole family may depend upon. This is the case in countries where poverty and corruption are raging, and where formal education and health care are limited or non-existent. So what alternatives does this child have other than working to provide for themselves and their families? Obviously, lower paid jobs, or worse, getting involved in illicit activities, like robbery, prostitution, narcotic planting, drug trafficking, or even terrorism, just to name a few.
Ideally, a better solution can be paying a premium for such chocolates, conditional upon the commitment of the importing corporations in developed countries to invest this premium in improving children's lives through building schools, hospitals, safer workshops, etc. This perhaps can be supervised by governments, the UNICEF, and the ILO, to ensure that these premiums are used for the sake of working children and not misdirected along the way. More initiatives such as Harkin-Engle Protocol are definitely needed, to improve the working conditions of child labor and to eliminate child slavery altogether.
Surely working children deserve better lives and education and to live their childhood to its fullest. However under the current mean circumstances and lack of other alternatives, is boycott an effective solution eradicate child labor and slavery? Will it provide better alternatives to working children? Probably not, so continuing to purchase chocolates produced by child labor seems the least of many evils.
Kindest Regards,
Sultan
Yes, I am of the opinion that any product made with child labour should be boycotted.
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