By 
KitKats—those snappy, chocolate-covered wafers—have been made with cocoa harvested by child laborers for years. But now the candy bar's parent company, Nestlé, is vowing to make some serious changes.
In a statement released Monday, the brand announced it will use solely sustainably sourced cocoa by early next year. To achieve this, Nestlé will partner with independent third-party groups for all KitKat products worldwide, which will make KitKat the first global chocolate brand to use sustainably harvested cocoa.
It is worth noting that the brand is currently using sustainably sourced cocoa, but only in certain markets. Nestlé will now be extending those practices across the globe, including the U.S.
"Sustainable cocoa sourcing helps safeguard the livelihoods of farming communities and delivers higher quality cocoa beans," Sandra Martinez, head of confectionary for the company, said in a press release. But the full crossover won't be complete until the first quarter of 2016. Until then, you might be better off seeking out white chocolate.
Besides coinciding with KitKat's 80th anniversary (convenient!), this shift away from child labor arrives just after Nestlé received harsh criticism for utilizing fish that was harvested via slave labor in cat food brand Fancy Feast.
But Nestle isn't the only retail giant getting flack for unfair labor. Costco was recently sued for selling shrimp harvested by slave workers in Thailand.
Sure, this is a lot of workers' rights news at once, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. These companies are being held accountable for their malpractices. As a result, consumers are becoming more informed than ever. And that's something we can feel good about.
Follow Delish on Instagram.
