NEWSBYTIM NEWMAN

This week, Mars (the chocolate company behind popular favorites like M&M's) announced a major new commitment to support Fairtrade certified cocoa. Mars said that it would certify its Maltesers chocolate candy as Fairtrade in the UK and Ireland in 2012. While it may just be one product for now, Mars and Fairtrade International note that Maltesers are "the third biggest confectionery brand in the UK, and its switch will  represent more than a 10% increase in total UK Fairtrade sales," and most importantly, the commitment will lead to an excess of $1 million in additional funds as part of the Fairtrade Premium to cocoa farmers to invest in their communities. The announcement from Mars puts Hershey even further out of the mainstream by failing to commit to responsibly source its cocoa.

In 2009, Mars stepped forward as a leader among major chocolate companies in committing to certified cocoa when it announced that it would certify its entire cocoa supply as sustainably produced by 2020. This new announcement shows Mars' specific support for Fairtrade certification. Additionally, the company noted that it plans to "explore how best to scale up its purchases of Fairtrade cocoa, and will support Fairtrade’s continued efforts to develop measures that would allow more confectionery companies to increase their commitments to purchase more Fairtrade cocoa with the aim of impacting the lives of more cocoa farmers than ever before."

Amid growing scrutiny of Hershey's labor rights abuses, from its cocoa beans to its packing facility in Pennsylvania, the company has hired additional lobbyists to deflect attention from its exploitation of workers. Hershey recently hired the services of Bank Rome Government Relations to advocate for the company on "government affairs issues related to labor practices." Unfortunately for Hershey, no amount of money thrown to lobbyists will end its connection the abuse of student guestworkers or child, forced and trafficked labor in its cocoa supply chain -- only changing its policies will solve these problems.

Last month, it was revealed that student guestworkers who came to the US on J-1 visas found themselves working long hours in poor conditions for paltry wages in a Hershey packing facility in Pennsylvania. The students staged a walk out, organized massive protests in Hershey and took their message across the country, even receiving support from labor rights advocates around the world. Almost 70,000 Change.org readers have joined the campaign calling for justice for guestworkers and for living wage jobs for Pennsylvania residents. Meanwhile, Hershey has hidden behind multiple layers of subcontractors and remained silent about its connection to the exploitation of these students.

Change.org readers have successfully shown the fashion industry that forced child labor is a fashion faux pas. Gulnara Karimova, the daughter of the President of Uzbekistan and the country's Ambassador to Spain and Permanent Representative to the UN office in Geneva, was scheduled to present her fashion line, GULI, at New York Fashion Week on September 15th. When the organizers learned of her connection to human rights abuses in Uzbekistan, they canceled her show. Karimova quickly went on the search for a new venue and Change.org readers jumped to action.

The International Labor Rights Forum started a petition on Change.org calling on Cipriani, a restaurant that Karimova was allegedly approaching, not to host her show. Uzbekistan is infamous for its state-sponsored policy of removing up to two million children from schools across the country and forcing them to pick cotton to meet government-imposed production quotas. Within days, 500 people had contacted Cipriani through Change.org and many concerned individuals flooded the New York City based restaurant with phone calls. The petition immediately generated pressure and negative media attention toward to Cipriani. The effort was even highlighted in the New York Post and on NYC's NPR affiliate.

In the midst of New York Fashion Week, 60 of the world's leading apparel companies and brands, as well as the American Apparel and Footwear Association which includes 800 members, have signed a pledge to not knowingly source cotton harvest by forced child labor in Uzbekistan. The pledge, endorsed by companies from Wal-Mart to high-end fashion leaders like Nordstrom's and Gucci, shows the growing concern among some of the largest companies about the egregious labor rights abuses in this major cotton exporting nation. Despite widespread industry condemnation, some companies like Aeropostale, Forever 21, Urban Outfitters and Toys R Us have remained silent.

The pledge states in part: "We are stating our firm opposition to the use of forced child labor in the harvest of Uzbek cotton. We commit to not knowingly source Uzbek cotton for the manufacturing of any of our products until the Government of Uzbekistan ends the practice of forced child labor in its cotton sector. Until the elimination of this practice is independently verified by the International Labor Organization, we will maintain this pledge."

On Milton Hershey's birthday, the Raise the Bar Campaign released a new report analyzing how the company he founded has lagged behind in addressing child labor, forced labor and trafficking in the production of its primary ingredient. While Hershey is known for supporting children in communities in the US, the company has not done as much as other major chocolate companies to ensure that its cocoa is not tainted by egregious labor rights abuses.

A year after the release of the Raise the Bar Campaign's first report analyzing Hershey's cocoa purchasing policies, they have found that Hershey still does not measure up to other companies in using cocoa that has been certified to comply with international labor rights standards. Hershey has funded various programs in the world's largest cocoa growing region, West Africa, but it has not instituted policies to trace its cocoa and ensure that the cocoa it uses is not linked to the exploitation of cocoa.

She's been called "the single most hated person" in her country and one of the "world's worst daughters" for her ruthless use of political connections to crush business competitors and personal enemies. Gulnara Karimova is the daughter of the dictator of Uzbekistan who rules what the US Department of State classifies as an "authoritarian state." While she might not be popular among many, she is an official representative of the government of Uzbekistan as the country's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office in Geneva and the Ambassador to Spain. Recently, her connection to human rights abuses has gotten in the way of her aspiring career as a fashion designer.

Karimova was scheduled to present her GULI collection this Thursday at New York Fashion Week, but when one of the event organizers, IMG, learned of her close relationship with a government accused of a broad range of abuses from torture to forced child labor, it decided to cancel her show.

Human and labor rights advocates are posting on the "fast fashion" clothing retailer Forever 21's Facebook page to tell the company that forced child labor is out of style. Uzbekistan, one of the world's largest cotton producing countries, continues to institute a policy where up to two million children are removed from school across the country and forced to pick cotton to enrich the ruling regime. While scores of companies have spoken out against the abuse and have committed to prohibit the use of cotton made by forced child labor in Uzbekistan in their supply chains, Forever 21 is lagging behind.

As part of Fashion's Night Out, a major event associated with New York Fashion Week, Forever 21 is encouraging consumers to download an app where they can get discounts for participating in a "virtual scavenger hunt." Consumers concerned about labor rights exploitation connected to their clothing are staging somewhat of a fashion day in by asking Forever 21 where it's hiding its morals.

It's National S'mores Day! Yes, you are forgiven if you haven't been counting down to this obscure holiday for months. Clearly, this manufactured holiday mainly exists to drive consumers to the candy aisle, but it's still a great time to celebrate this favorite summer treat. Wouldn't your s'mores taste better if they were made using chocolate that didn't exploit children and workers who harvest cocoa? You can take action in just a few minutes to tell Hershey that you want more from your s'mores.

Earlier in the summer, Hershey launched a s'mores photo contest on its Facebook page that will culminate today. However, as we reported last month, the company censored contest submissions that asked Hershey to stop child labor, forced labor and trafficking in its chocolate s'mores. While Hershey committed to ending these abuses in its chocolate ten years ago, the company is lagging behind its competitors in using cocoa that has been independently certified to comply with international labor rights standards. That is why the Raise the Bar Hershey campaign has been organizing a summer action called "We Want More from our S'mores" throughout the summer to call on Hershey to "raise the bar" for responsible cocoa sourcing.

Change.org readers did it again! Close to 1,000 Change.org readers contacted children's clothing brand Carter's asking the company to stop the use of cotton from Uzbekistan made by forced child labor in its products. Yesterday, Carter's issued a statement about its efforts to prohibit Uzbek cotton and "to go more deeply into our supply chain to better ensure compliance." Now that we have worked together to push Abercrombie & Fitch, Gymboree, the Children's Place and Carter's to take action to address forced child labor in cotton, it's time to focus on a handful of new companies that have been silent on this abuse: Toys "R" Us, Aeropostale, Forever 21 and Urban Outfitters.

Your efforts efforts are making a big difference in building the economic pressure on the Government of Uzbekistan to end its state policy of removing millions of children from school and forcing them to pick cotton during the harvest season. Carter's statement yesterday said that it "will continue to prohibit the use of Uzbek cotton in our supply chain until the government of Uzbekistan ends the practice of forced child labor and allows the independent verification by the International Labor Organization." That is a critical commitment for companies to make as Uzbekistan has consistently refused to allow independent observers from the ILO in to the country to document labor conditions on cotton farms despite the widespread and well-documented government policy of forced child labor which violates the government's commitments under international labor rights protocols.

Next time you are at your local supermarket it's time to call for a clean up in the candy aisle. It has been almost a decade since major chocolate companies like Hershey committed to ending child labor, forced labor and trafficking in their cocoa supply chains, and yet these abuses continue on West African cocoa farms today. This summer, consumers across the country are standing up and informing their fellow shoppers about Hershey's tainted chocolate. Here's how you can join them.

As part of the Raise the Bar Hershey campaign's summer action, "We Want More from our S'mores," concerned consumers across the country are placing "consumer alert" flyers in s'mores displays featuring Hershey chocolate. S'mores are Hershey's major public relations push during the summer and many supermarkets have displays that feature Hershey chocolate along with graham crackers and marshmallows. While s'mores are supposed to represent fun and freedom, when our summer treats are tainted by abusive working conditions, they become much more bitter. The new supermarket action is the newest way for consumers to ask Hershey to "raise the bar" for responsible cocoa sourcing by shifting to Fair Trade Certified cocoa.