A report partially authored by the U.S. Labor Department says that, despite earlier promises to reform, child labor remains a key part of the chocolate industry, and the practice is growing in certain areas, according to the Washington Post.

The report, produced in partnership with NORC at the University of Chicago, estimates that, overall, about 1.6 million children are actively engaged in cocoa production, and most of them are conducting hazardous work such as wielding machetes, carrying heavy loads or working with pesticides. This has gone one despite pledges from the industry in 2001, 2005, 2008 and 2010 to eliminate at least the worst instances from the supply chain. The report noted that in Ivory Coast and Ghana, the two primary suppliers, the practice actually increased from 31 percent to 45 percent between 2008 and 2019.

Industry representatives said that one of the issues is that it is difficult to verify which harvests come from which farms, making enforcement of labor standards problematic, although the Post said nonprofits have found this puzzling, given the large amounts of money constantly flowing into the sector. Large U.S. chocolatiers, said the Post, added that they are responsible for only so much of the chocolate supply, and that 40 percent of cocoa produced is done under the auspices of smaller companies that may not have the same standards as they do. On the continuing prevalence of child labor in the industry, spokespeople suggested that perhaps the initial goals were too lofty.

Not mentioned by the Post is research finding that some of the child laborers in question are in fact slaves. One report from the labor rights group Verite estimated that 0.42 percent of adults and 0.17 percent of children working in Côte d’Ivoire's cocoa industry are there by force, although it noted that, given the vagaries of human trafficking, that number could be higher. The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear from six former child slaves who have sued Nestle U.S.A. and Cargill for, essentially, enabling their slavery, during which they experienced brutal treatment while working without pay for up to 14 hours a day, six days a week. At issue is whether the U.S. Alien Tort Statute allows companies to be sued for their conduct in foreign countries. The Post said the case is set for December.