Chocolate and Child Slavery

Like many Americans, I grew up eating - and loving - chocolate. I still love chocolate. The smell of it, the texture, the varying degrees of sweetness. From the lovely, sophisticated dark chocolate that kisses your tastebuds and leaves you wanting more to the sweet, simple milk chocolate that melts so smoothly, I enjoy it all. My favorite cake is one of my grandmother's recipes, a dark chocolate cake. I prefer it without frosting.

This year, the week before Halloween, I received a bit of a revelation in my email inbox. In trying to practice gratefulness and thankfulness, I had subscribed to an email feed called The Daily GOOD, from the magazine GOOD. The subject line that caught my eye? Child Slaves Made Your Halloween Candy. Stop Buying It.

I admit my first inclination was towards skepticism; but I was disturbed enough that I researched a bit more. I found that the taint of child slavery in the chocolate trade is a very real issue.

• Stop Child Labor Cocoa Campaign
• Wikipedia: Children In Cocoa Production
• Anti-Slavery
• BBC - Tracing the Bitter Truth of Chocolate and Child Labor 
• Food Empowerment Project: Slavery in the Chocolate Industry 

So now what? I decided to give up chocolate, unless it is Fair Trade. Not a difficult decision when I think about children as young as 6 suffering just so I can have an inexpensive candy bar. I expected to miss some of my favorites. I expected to find it difficult to source Fair Trade chocolate. I expected to pay more for chocolate.

What I did not expect: the reactions others have had to my decision.

If I had simply stated I was giving up chocolate as part of a diet, no one would say much..... or they would be cheerleaders. Saying I was changing my eating habits because of child slavery? People have repeatedly told me I'm naive if I think I can change an entire industry by myself.

Guess what? I'm not trying to change the industry by myself. I'm simply choosing not to support a way of doing business that I find unethical, and at the core, immoral. If my choice causes someone else to take a closer look, good.

I was fortunate enough - lucky - to be born in the United States of America. I had a childhood. I knew my cousins, aunts, and uncles. I had my own bedroom in a decent house, with three meals a day and snacks. I had clothes to wear. I got an education. I never had to worry about being snatched off the street and sold into slavery. 

If this subject makes you uncomfortable, I refuse to apologize. Close the page if you want. It won't make the problem disappear.

Swimming Upstream

I feel like I'm swimming upstream lately. Anyone who knows me well knows that swimming in general is an absolutely terrifying thing for me - one of my greatest fears is water.

I'm trying to stay focused on what really matters. I'm also trying to think about the things that I'm grateful to have in my life. It's helping, somewhat, but I'm still feeling pushed downstream, barely treading water.

The things that are overwhelming me are the same things every other human being deals with: work, family, friends, money, health, time..... Normally, I'm ok juggling a few problems. They're usually not that heavy, you see. Add a heavy issue to the mix, and it gets a bit harder. Add two or more..... Well, that's when I find myself thinking of water. And swimming. And how important it is not to fail.

When you're stressed and overwhelmed, what images come to your mind?

Ch Ch Ch Changes........

The last few months have been interesting. On September 9th, the first day of my tenth year of FatWallet employment, the company was acquired by Performance Marketing Brands, which is now a parent company to FatWallet, Ebates and AnyCoupons.  After a flurry of questions, providing information and feeling like we were in limbo, we finally get to move forward. The possibilities and opportunities are pretty exciting.

New ownership naturally means a shift in how I think about where I work. I have quite a bit of logo-wear, so I'm used to answering questions about FatWallet when I'm out and about. On a recent flight, the person in the seat next to me asked, "So what is FatWallet?" After my normal elevator pitch, he said, "I'll have to have my wife check it out. She loves to coupon and save money." I found myself telling him that maybe she should try Ebates first, as that site is a bit more female-friendly. This led to a conversation about the differences in the sites, FatWallet's great electronics deals, and the tv he's thinking about buying soon.

I've been a loyal FatWallet employee and customer for so long, it wouldn't be surprising to me if I bled green (one of the colors we frequently use and associate with the brand).  Just three weeks ago, I would not have had this conversation (suggest a competitor? No way!). Anyone who knows me well knows I hate to fly. This conversation, which was friendly and fun, helped me to relax a bit. Hello change!

Why, Walmart? Why? Next Time, Target.

I've spent my day sticking donation tags on items for Chemo Cargo tote bags, and making a run to Walmart for large plastic bins to store said tote bags. Why couldn't Target have built a store a block away from me instead of Walmart? I end up frustrated and sorry I ever set foot in the door about 50% of the time I walk into a Walmart. You'd think I'd learn not to go there. This morning I told myself that it was only for plastic bins, how bad could it be?

On a Saturday, don't you think they could have more than 4 registers open in a Walmart super store? Seriously? And of course 2 of the lines open are 20 items or less, one line sells cigarettes, and the other line is on the grocery side. I only had 12 items, but the darn lines were just so long. I waited longer in line - much longer - than I spent walking in, getting a cart, getting my items, and walking to the front of the store.

Next time, I'm definitely going to Target. They have better shopping carts, too.




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