Class Actions Allege Chocolate Companies' Forced Labor Imports Violate Consumer Protection Laws
Two class-action lawsuits filed Feb. 23 in Massachusetts federal district court allege Hershey and Mars violated state consumer protection laws by failing to disclose the use of forced and child labor in their supply chains. Danell Tomasella, on behalf of consumers that purchased Hershey and Mars products in Massachusetts during the past four years, alleges those consumers would not have bought Hershey and Mars candy had they known the companies had forced and child labor in their supply chains. Tomasella filed a similar lawsuit against Nestle on Feb. 9.
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The two lawsuits follow as-yet-unsuccessful bids in California federal court filed by different plaintiffs that were represented by the same law firm, Hagens Berman. All three California class actions, also against Hershey, Mars and Nestle, were dismissed in 2016, after the California Northern District Court found California law does not require companies to disclose to consumers the presence of forced or child labor in the supply chain. The cases are now under appeal at the 9th Circuit.
According to Tomasella’s complaints, Hershey, Nestle and Mars knew about the use of child and forced labor in the Ivory Coast and other cocoa-producing West African countries, evinced by United Nations and U.S. Department of Labor reports, but did not require its suppliers to remedy situation nor did it disclose it to consumers. Hershey, Mars and Nestle have the market power to fix the problem, but through their “inadequate efforts” can’t trace their cocoa beans to ensure the beans are not the product of child or forced labor. Continued profits on the back of child and forced labor violate the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Law and result in unjust enrichment, each complaint said.