Halloween's Biggest Treat of Them All

This Halloween, a new trend is developing through supporters of fair trade within the cocoa industry — reverse trick-or-treating. When you open your door tomorrow night to trick-or-treaters, you may be in for the biggest treat yet — you will be given a bar of Fair Trade chocolate and a card explaining the problems within the cocoa industry.

That may be a treat, but where’s the trick? The trick is to get involved and help alleviate the poverty and child labour problems affecting the industry, and help show how Fair Trade-certified chocolate provides a solution. If you or your kids receive the candies during your trick-or-treating, make sure you read the information to help combat the situation — and after you finish eating the chocolate, use the information to make changes in the types of products you buy and consume.

Fair Trade is not about supporting imports, but about supporting good conditions in which products are produced and the treatment of the people working in the industry. Reverse Trick-or-Treating is an initiative of the Global Exchange and is supported by Fair Trade chocolate producers (who have donated the chocolates) and lead nonprofit organizations. You can download the information card and locate a list of centres where you can obtain the kits to offer these treats to the kids who come to your door.

If you have the time, please stock your candy jar with the kits to ensure that during Halloween many more people are benefiting from all these good tricks and treats. Click here for more information and the press release.