Ethical & Slave-Free Chocolate

The Problem With Chocolate

Most people don't know that the chocolate industry has a serious human rights problem. The majority of the world's cacao — around 70% — comes from West Africa, primarily Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) and Ghana. And in those countries, child slave labour is widespread on cacao farms.

These aren't distant statistics. They represent real children — some as young as five — who are trafficked from neighbouring countries, forced to work with machetes and pesticides, and denied education. Many never see their families again. This is the hidden cost behind cheap chocolate bars sold in every supermarket.

What We Do Differently

At Mayan Monkey Mijas, we are Slave-Free Chocolate certified — the only factory in Spain to hold this certification. This means our entire cacao supply chain has been verified to be free from child labour and forced labour.

We source our cacao beans from certified cooperatives that pay fair prices to farmers and can trace every bean back to the farm it came from. We don't use anonymous commodity cacao from the Ivory Coast. Instead, we buy single-origin beans from cooperatives where working conditions are monitored and farmers receive a living wage.

Why "Fair Trade" Isn't Always Enough

Fair Trade certification is a step in the right direction, but it doesn't guarantee the absence of child labour. The Fairtrade system focuses on price premiums paid to cooperatives, which is important — but the premiums don't always reach the most vulnerable workers on the farms.

The Slave-Free Chocolate certification goes further. It specifically audits supply chains for forced labour and child trafficking, rather than just looking at pricing structures. That's why we chose this certification — because we wanted to be as certain as possible that no child was harmed to make our chocolate.

The Dark Side of Chocolate

If you want to understand this issue more deeply, we recommend watching the documentary "The Dark Side of Chocolate" (2010). It was filmed undercover in Côte d'Ivoire and Mali, and it documents the trafficking of children as young as seven to work on cacao farms. It's difficult to watch, but it's an important film.

We show this documentary at our factory and discuss these issues openly with visitors. We believe that awareness is the first step towards change — and that every chocolate purchase is a vote for the kind of industry you want to support.

What You Can Do

You don't have to give up chocolate. You just have to choose it more carefully. Here are some simple steps:

• Check the label — look for Slave-Free, Direct Trade, or certified single-origin chocolate
• Avoid anonymous "cocoa mass" — if the chocolate doesn't say where the cacao comes from, it's probably from West African commodity markets
• Support small makers — craft chocolate makers are more likely to know their farmers personally
• Talk about it — most people simply don't know about this issue. Sharing awareness makes a difference

Learn More

These organisations are doing important work to end child slavery in the chocolate industry:

• Slave Free Chocolate — directory of certified chocolate makers
• International Cocoa Initiative — working to protect children in cocoa-growing communities

Visit Our Factory

Come and see ethical chocolate being made. Our factory in Mijas Pueblo is fully transparent — you can watch every step of the process through our glass-fronted workshop. We offer free tours whenever possible, and our team is always happy to talk about where our chocolate comes from and why it matters.