Produced by Be Slavery Free, the annual assessment reviewed 49 of the world’s largest chocolate companies and retailers, representing roughly 90% of global cocoa production. The report argues the industry can no longer claim uncertainty about the human and environmental costs behind chocolate production.
“For years the industry estimated. Now it measures,” said Fuzz Kitto. “The lights have come on, and the picture is stark.”
The report’s central finding is that 38% of cocoa farmers in major supply chains still do not earn a living income – enough to afford food, housing, healthcare and education. Approximately only one-third of farmers currently earn a living income, while the remainder remain unaccounted for.
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The findings underscore a widening debate over how profits from the global chocolate trade are distributed. According to the Scorecard, a cocoa farmer in Ghana earns approximately 11 cents from an $8 block of milk chocolate. The organisation estimates that paying farmers a living income would add about 20 cents to the retail price of a chocolate bar.
“Most companies have written living-income policies,” the report states. “Few have changed how they actually buy.”
Deforestation Across West Africa
The report also warns that cocoa production continues to drive deforestation across West Africa, particularly in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, which together produce roughly two-thirds of the world’s cocoa.
New European regulations are expected to intensify scrutiny. Beginning 31 December 2026, the European Union’s Deforestation Regulation will require cocoa imported into Europe to be traceable to specific plots of land and verified as deforestation-free.
The Scorecard argues the industry now falls into three camps: companies prepared for compliance, companies claiming readiness, and companies hoping enforcement deadlines are delayed.
“The chocolate that disappears from European shelves will be the chocolate the company couldn’t trace,” the report warns.
Child Labour Hasn't Gone Away
Child labour remains another unresolved issue. The chocolate industry first pledged in 2001 to eliminate child labour from cocoa production, but the report says those commitments remain unmet 25 years later.
This year, 94% of large chocolate companies reported child labour cases within their supply chains, up sharply from 45% in 2023. Retailer reporting also rose to 70%.
The report credits companies for building sophisticated monitoring systems capable of identifying child labour, but says most firms have failed to address the underlying economic conditions driving families to rely on children’s labour.
“We are counting, not preventing,” the report concludes.
The Scorecard identified several companies as industry leaders through its annual “Good Egg Awards,” recognising businesses that demonstrated stronger performance on farmer income, transparency and sustainability. Winners included Halba, Coop Switzerland and Original Beans.
Additional awards went to Tony’s Chocolonely for gender equality initiatives and The Hershey Company for farmer health programmes.
Meanwhile, the report criticised companies that declined to participate, naming Mondelēz International — owner of brands including Cadbury and Toblerone — and Starbucks among its “Bad Egg” recipients.
“Silence is a position,” said Carolyn Kitto. “The Good Eggs show this is solvable. They have done the work, opened the books, and stood the scrutiny. The Bad Eggs have made a different choice – to stay silent, to leave the row blank, to hope no one notices.”
The report encourages consumers to use the Chocolate Scorecard database to compare brands on labour rights, farmer income and environmental performance — information not typically disclosed on product packaging.
As regulators tighten supply-chain requirements and consumers increasingly demand ethical sourcing, the report suggests the chocolate industry is entering a new phase: one where transparency is no longer optional, and where measuring problems without solving them may no longer satisfy investors, governments or the public.
- Visit chocolatescorecard.com to see how the chocolate in your trolley scores.
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