Cadbury Case Study

Cadbury and Fairtrade, the long-time issue of cocoa plantations and slavery in Africa. (SLIDE 2)

A Brief History of Cadbury

Founded in 1824, by John Cadbury, Cadbury is the second largest chocolate producer in the world, behind Mars. It operates in over 50 countries and has provided chocolate for hundreds of years. Cadbury started off selling drinking chocolate as it was a healthy alternative to alcohol. In 1831 they moved to a bigger factory with access to all the canal ports in Britain. In 1905 Cadbury launched its infamous “Dairy Milk” Chocolate, and in 1920 the colour of the packaging changed to the purple we know today. The Bourneville village in which Cadbury had first started still has many ties to Cadbury, even though Cadbury has been bought out by American mega-corporation, Mendelez International.

Cacao Farming (SLIDE 3)

Cacao beans grow in climates such as Latin America, Asia and West Africa, countries in West Africa such as Ghana and Ivory Coast produce more than 60% of the world’s cacao. (Slide 4) There has recently become a large demand for cheap cocoa, this is due to the growth of the chocolate industry. As a result of this, cocoa farmers are being paid less than $2 per day, because of this, farmers use child labour to keep their prices low. In West Africa, children work intensively to support their families. These children work from as early as 6 AM and finish in the evening, some children use chainsaws to cut down trees, other children climb trees and use