Sourcing Cocoa Beans from Non-Slavery Sources
Around 70% of the cocoa used in the mainstream chocolate industry is grown in the West African nations of Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana, where an estimated 2.1 million children work as labourers harvesting it. On the plantations, children as young as ten are forced to harvest cocoa pods with machetes and carry heavy bags many times their own weight, all without pay. If they try to escape, they are beaten by the farmers.
At Cacao, we have always avoided cocoa grown in West Africa, instead sourcing from countries with are no reports of child slavery in their cocoa industries, like the Philippines. To be sure of this, we consult the Sweat and Toil app developed by the United States Department of Labor, which lists exactly which products from which countries use slavery in their production.
Helping the Homeless
Closer to home, we also work to ensure that our business benefits the vulnerable here in Hong Kong.
To that end, every year we offer an Annual Subscription package where buyers can have Cacao products delivered to their homes every month for a year. As part of this package, 40% of the proceeds go towards supporting the work of the Missionaries of Charity, who help to feed and shelter homeless people. We also volunteer sometimes at their Home of Love shelter in Sham Shui Po, where we help to prepare meals for the homeless people there.
Combatting climate change
We make an annual donation to Masarang to support its work restoring the rainforest in Sulawesi, Indonesia. To date we have funded the reforestation of 2 acres of land.
To see a video of our reforestation plot click here
Education
Educating people about the climate impact of food and the use of child slavery in the mainstream cocoa industry is a key part of what we do. Having spent our careers in publicly funded healthcare, we had no interest in a business that was purely focused on making money. All our pure tasting workshops blend the tastings with education about climate change and slavery and we have spoken on these topics at schools.
Sharing knowledge at The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Emergency medical care
We make a regular donation to Medecins sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders) and in October 2025 we donated our entire revenue (not just profit) to support their work in Gaza.
Disadvantaged children
In 2025 we ran a cooking demonstration at Food Parc aided by a group of disadvantaged children in collaboration with r é n 人 and we hope to collaborate further in 2026.
Genocide
We do not use Israeli ingredients or equipment to make any of our products.