Nestlé USA’s Chocolates

April 2019: A class-action lawsuit was filed against Nestlé USA for allegedly deceptively labeling chocolate products using phrases such as “sustainably sourced” and “supports” farmers to make consumers believe that the cocoa used in them was produced following environmentally and socially responsible standards when, according to plaintiffs, the cocoa comes from farms that use child and slave labor and the company’s supply chain has “virtually no environmental standards in place.” According to the complaint, the chocolate industry destroys rainforests in West Africa and uses chemicals that pollute waterways, kills wildlife, and harms communities. (Walker et al v. Nestlé USA, Inc., Case No. 19-cv-723, S.D. Cal.)