Will your Halloween candy purchases contribute to child-trafficking, physical abuse and child slave labor? If you buy chocolate, they might. Much of the world’s cocoa beans come from Africa and South America where wages are few, if any, and hours are grueling, according to Change.org.

Due to increased pressure over the last few years, some candy manufacturers are instituting policies that either support fair trade chocolate or at least track the cocoa beans to ensure they are not from farms where workers are exploited.  Unfortunately, not all companies are banning “blood chocolate” as it has been called; purchasing a bag for trick-or-treaters may unknowingly support these confectionery giants and their labor practices.

Here are a couple of ways to help stop to exploitation in the cocoa fields and feel good about biting into that piece of mouth-watering chocolate at the same time.

1. Go “reverse trick or treating” this year.  Instead of passing out candy when costumed kiddos come to your door, head out with your own trick or treat “kit” which contains fair trade chocolate and an informational flyer about unfair cocoa trade practices. By informing your neighborhood, you can help change consumer practices. Print out the flyer to create your own kit.
2. Sign a petition for Hershey to “raise the bar” and begin requiring suppliers to utilize sustainable practices within its farms. While much progress has been made in the last few years, Hershey lags behind in standards and owns roughly 40 percent of the chocolate market here in the United States.

What fair trade products do you enjoy most?