How to have an ethical Easter without breaking the bank
Our easy-to-follow guide to buying chocolate not tainted by child labour
Tess Delbridge
March 7th, 2018 04:09 PM
The sweet, sweet mountains of Easter eggs which will be accumulating around our homes over the next few weeks often have been produced using cocoa from West Africa, a region notorious for using children (some as young as eight years old) as workers on farms.
But the good news is there are plenty of ways to still have tasty chocolate eggs and bunnies without supporting child labour on cocoa plantations.
Many major retailers are now stocking products certified to have systems in place to guard against child labour, as well as helping to ensure workers are treated well and paid fairly. Look for the UTZ, Rainforest Alliance and Fairtrade labels on your chocolate products. 
One thing before we start: you might have noticed that plain chocolate bars produced by chocolate giant Cadbury have the Fairtrade logo. Unfortunately this does not extend to any of their Easter products. “The percentage of sustainable cocoa we’re using has increased [from 12 to 21 per cent],” a media spokesperson told CHOICE in 2016. “Unfortunately, an overall trend in the sector didn’t translate into demand for that product, and the Fairtrade-certified Easter egg is no longer available. But Cadbury is absolutely passionate about transforming the cocoa industry for the better through Cocoa Life and our existing Fairtrade certifications.” So, stay tuned for what Cadbury will do next.
Back to business. No matter where you shop, our quick guide has got you covered:
ALDI
Aldi has a big selection of ethical chocolate this year, with Dairy Fine, Choceur and Moser Roth chocolates all UTZ certified. The Dairy Fine chocolate bunny is only 99c, while a large bag of eggs is $7.99, and a packet of caramel-filled eggs (for an Easter egg hunt) is also $4.99.
Some of Aldi’s selection of Easter chocolate
Coles
At Coles, you can pick up a UTZ certified milk chocolate bunny for $2.50.
The Coles UTZ milk chocolate bunny
Woolworths
You can get a bag of Woolworths branded caramel-filled or popping-candy-filled Easter eggs for $2.50.
Woolworths is selling stuffed Easter eggs this year
If you are looking for something a little more fancy, some of the Easter range at Haigh’s is certified. Their milk chocolate, dark chocolate and caramel-filled mini eggs range in price, depending on how many you can eat! The milk chocolate egg filled with assorted chocolates ($56.50) looks amazing! Check out Haigh’s full range here.
Haigh’s milk chocolate egg filled with assorted chocolates
And of course, Fairtrade store Oxfam has a great range of delicious-looking eggs. The Divine Dark Salted Caramel mini eggs ($16.95) and Divine Milk Chocolate Popcorn Egg ($29.95) look pretty tasty.
Divine Chocolate Gourmet Popcorn Egg
