Hershey, Nestle, other cocoa companies defeat appeal of child slavery lawsuit\n\nA federal appeals court on Tuesday, 22 July, rejected a proposed class action by eight Malian citizens who sought to hold Hershey, Nestle and five other companies liable for child labour on Ivory Coast cocoa farms.\n\nBy Jonathan Stempel\n\n24 Jul 2025\n\nIn a 3-0 decision, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit found no causal connection between the plaintiffs' forced labour and the defendants' alleged venture to obtain \"cheap cocoa harvested by enslaved children\".\n\nThe plaintiffs said they were required to live in squalor and threatened with starvation if they did not work, after being approached by unfamiliar men who falsely promised paying jobs.\n\nThey sued under a federal law protecting children and other victims of human trafficking and forced labour.\n\nCircuit Judge Justin Walker, however, said the plaintiffs alleged at most they worked in areas that supplied cocoa to the defendants, which buy an estimated 70% of Ivorian cocoa, rather than specific farms that supplied the cocoa.\n\n\"Is there a 'possibility' that at least some of the importers sourced cocoa from those farms? Yes,\" Walker wrote. \"But is it 'plausible'? Not on this complaint.\".\n\nOther defendants included privately-held Cargill, privately-held Mars, Mondelez International, Barry Callebaut and Olam International.\n\nThe Salvation Army launches campaign to expose child labour\n\n1 Jul 2025\n\nMali and the Ivory Coast share a border in West Africa. A trial judge ruled for the defendants in June 2022.\n\nTerry Collingsworth, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs, said his clients were \"extremely disappointed\" and considering their legal options.\n\n\"The court rewarded the chocolate multinational defendants ... for concealing their cocoa supply chains, such that former child slaves are unable to link a specific company to the Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) farms where they were enslaved,\" he said.\n\nIn March 2024, the same court dismissed a similar lawsuit seeking to hold five major technology companies including Apple and Tesla liable for child labor in cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.\n\nCollingsworth represented the plaintiffs in the cobalt case.\n\nThe case is Coubaly et al v Cargill Inc et al, D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 22-7104.\n\nRead more: child labour, Nestle, Hershey, Mars, cocoa farming, Mondelez\n\nShare this article\n\nNext\nOptions\n\nChoose a topic below and thereafter view all articles on the topic using the \"Next &gt;\" button or swiping left.\n\nChoose a topic below and thereafter view all articles on the topic using the \"Next &gt;\" button or the keyboard right arrow key.\n\nTop stories\nTrending 3 days\nTrending 7 days\nMarketing and media\n Human Rights Law\n Child labour\n Cocoa farming\n Hershey\n Mars\n Mondelez\n Nestle\n\nSource: Reuters\n\nAbout Jonathan Stempel\nReporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; editing by Alexandra Hudson\n\nRelated\n\nNigerian executive joins ICC's global marketing commission leadership\nThe Salvation Army launches campaign to expose child labour\nPublicis unseats WPP on Mars’ $1.7bn media account\nIvory Coast signals cocoa price hike in response to US tariffs\nKing Charles III ends royal warrants for Cadbury and Unilever\nDrought, heat pose a double threat to Ivory Coast cocoa farmers

Hershey, Nestle, other cocoa companies defeat appeal of child slavery lawsuit

A federal appeals court rejected a class-action lawsuit by eight Malian citizens seeking to hold Hershey, Nestle, and five other companies liable for child labor in Ivory Coast cocoa farms. The court found no direct causal link between the plaintiffs' allegations and the defendants' cocoa supply chains, dismissing the appeal 3-0. The case, which was previously dismissed in 2024 for a similar lawsuit involving tech companies, highlights ongoing legal challenges over corporate responsibility in cocoa farming.