At the On Us Coalition, we believe that businesses coming together can keep children and young people safe wherever they are.
That’s why we were honoured to welcome Julie McBride, a global leader in ethical supply chains, as our expert speaker for an exclusive On Us Masterclass.
Julie has worked extensively with businesses, NGOs, and policymakers to address child labour and modern slavery in industries such as cocoa, coffee, and textiles. Her experience spans global markets, helping companies shift from reactive compliance measures to proactive, systemic solutions that create lasting change.
A crisis in the cocoa industry: why business must lead the way
Julie’s session focused on the cocoa industry, which provides a powerful example of how child exploitation persists in global supply chains.
- 65% of the world’s cocoa comes from Ghana and the Ivory Coast, where poverty and lack of infrastructure drive widespread child labour
- 1.5 million children in these two countries alone work in hazardous conditions in cocoa fields
- Approximately 30,000 children and adults in the cocoa sector are trapped in modern slavery
- Globally, an estimated 160 million children (10% of all children) are engaged in child labour, with 70% of those working in agriculture
Despite these staggering numbers, just 10 companies dominate the global cocoa market, creating an imbalance of power between corporations and the 2.5 million cocoa farmers who supply them. This power dynamic makes it easy for exploitation to persist – unless businesses take action to change it.
How Tony’s Chocolonely is changing the game
Julie highlighted Tony’s Chocolonely, a company proving that ethical business practices are not just possible -they’re essential.
Tony’s mission is to create a system-wide transformation in the chocolate industry, ensuring cocoa is 100% free from exploitation. They achieve this by following five sourcing principles:
- Traceability: tracking cocoa beans from farm to shelf to ensure accountability at every stage
- Paying a higher price: going beyond fair trade standards to top up farmers’ income, helping them escape the poverty cycle
- Strong farmers: supporting farmers in taking responsibility for their children’s welfare and improving working conditions
- Long-term commitment: securing 5+ year partnerships with cooperatives, ensuring stability and growth
- Productivity and quality: investing in farmer training to increase yield sustainably, without relying on child labour
The results speak for themselves – while the industry norm is a prevalence rate of 46.5% child labour, Tony’s and its long-term partner cooperatives have reduced child labour to just 3.9%.
What businesses can learn from this approach
Julie made it clear: no company can tackle exploitation alone. Businesses must work together and take meaningful, long-term action to make child-safe supply chains a reality.
- Go beyond audits: a one-off compliance check won’t solve systemic issues. Businesses must actively engage with suppliers and communities
- Commit to fair pricing: if suppliers aren’t paid a living wage, exploitation will continue
- Create an open culture: policing isn’t the solution – supporting families and suppliers to change practices is
- Invest in long-term partnerships: quick fixes won’t work. Sustained engagement is the key to driving real change
