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Our investigation reveals: Ferrero-Rocher, Kinder Bueno and Nutella contain hazelnuts that may have been picked by children. It’s time to tell the billionaire Giovanni Ferrero that this needs to end now.
The truth is out: Results from our investigation published today in the Guardian, reveal that hazelnuts in Ferrero-Rocher, Kinder Bueno and Nutella contain hazelnuts that may have been picked by children. Now it’s time to tell the billionaire Giovanni Ferrero and his company to eliminate child labour in their supply chain.
Nutella’s slogan says that it’s made with love, but we’ve revealed that the chocolate spread contains hazelnuts that may have been picked by children, exploited in Turkey’s hazelnut industry.
Working with Turkish partners who traveled to more than 10 cities in the Black Sea Region, we obtained video footage that shows children as young as 11 forced to work long hours, without contracts or adequate health and safety equipment. An 11-year-old girl in the video says: ‘’We walk to the field at 6.30AM and [...] we work until 6PM. We have two breaks. This is the second time I have come to work here.’’ [1]
When we saw images of workers, most of them minors, piled up in a dilapidated room, we teamed up with journalists at the Guardian. Together, we connected the dots and found that Ferrero’s products contain hazelnuts that may have been picked by children.
Ferrero is a family-owned company led by the billionaire Giovanni Ferrero. [2] Hazelnuts in Nutella, Kinder Bueno, and Ferrero-Rocher make him richer every day while ‘“Hazelnuts mean work for me,’’ says a 14-year-old child in the footage. [3]
Together, let’s tell Ferrero to eliminate child labour in their supply chain now! We’ll start with a petition today, but are already planning a big action where we will deliver your signatures to Giovanni Ferrero. [4]
No more Nutella that may contain hazelnuts picked by children
Ferrero claims to have a “Zero tolerance approach” towards child labour and says it is committed to protecting children’s rights all along its supply chain. [5] But our Turkish partners confirmed that there are not enough effective safeguards preventing child labour in Ferrero’s supply chain. One farmer in the video says: “Ferrero is just searching for a fresh hazelnut.”
The general manager of Ferrero Hazelnut Company in Turkey in September 2019 told the BBC: "If we determine a product which is produced with unethical practices, we would not touch it.” [6] The truth is that Ferrero is aware of unethical practices. In another interview with the Italian magazine Internazionale, the CEO of Ferrero Hazelnut Company acknowledged: “child labour exists [in Turkish hazelnut farms], that is undeniable.” Ferrero buys many of its hazelnuts directly from merchants and cannot trace where all of its hazelnuts come from. [7] The company admits that as of 2018, it had only achieved 39 percent traceability on its hazelnuts. [8]
The Guardian was able to trace the hazelnuts harvested from one of the farms that hires children to the merchant that buys them. That merchant then confirmed in writing to the Guardian that they sell hazelnuts to Ferrero. If hazelnuts picked by children end up with Ferrero, they must take action to stop this. It’s time for zero tolerance from us as consumers.
Billionaire Giovanni Ferrero: put children over profits and stop child labour
When we crowdfunded this investigation back in June 2019, we weren’t certain that we could make a case this strong that Ferrero’s products contain hazelnuts that may have been picked by children. Today, because so many of you support WeMove Europe, the story is in the Guardian and soon will likely be published in other media outlets around the world.
Let’s band together and pressure Ferrero to stop child labor.
With proof and determination,
David, Giulio (Rome), Jörg (Lübeck), and the rest of the WeMove Europe team
References:
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/dec/20/are-ferrero-rocher-chocolates-tainted-by-child-labour
[2] https://www.ferrero.com/the-ferrero-group/a-family-story; https://www.ferrero.com/the-ferrero-group/business/key-figures
[3] https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/dec/20/are-ferrero-rocher-chocolates-tainted-by-child-labour
[4] http://www.ansa.it/english/news/business/2019/03/05/giovanni-ferrero-richest-man-in-italy_b1d24d05-1d6d-4d12-b669-8fbc46fc7bd5.html; https://www.forbes.com/profile/giovanni-ferrero/
[5] https://www.ferrerocsr.com/fc-3952?newsRVP=67
[6] https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-49741675
[7] https://www.internazionale.it/reportage/stefano-liberti/2019/06/21/nutella-gusto-amaro-nocciole-ferrero
[8] https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/ferrero-static/globalcms/documenti/3722.pdf
