Was anyone else confused about the M&M’s controversy? Is there more to the story than the green anthropomorphic M&M changing her shoes? That very well could be the case as M&M faces a child slavery lawsuit filed by the IRA in Washington, D.C.
Parent company Mars is the actual company being sued and is named along with several other defendants such as Nestlé, Cargill, Barry Callebaut, Olam, Hershey, and Mondelēz. Eight children have stepped forward to detail their stories of being forced to child labor on the cocoa plantations of the West African country known as the Ivory Coast. While travelers visit to enjoy the landmarks, the beach resorts, and the hiking trails through the rainforest, children within reach as young as 11 years old have been kidnapped and trafficked across borders to work with no pay and without any documentation in order to prove who they are. They don’t even know where they are to get back home to their families.
While it has been established that Mars and the other defendants do not own these plantations, the court documents claim they have “knowingly profited” from the production of cocoa there and the illegal work of children. Tucker Carlson may raise his fist and cry every day on air about the candies not being sexy anymore, but there is a much bigger problem that needs to be fixed, and M&Ms is benefitting from the sideways attention it’s getting.
As more controversy stirred over all these changes and additions, M&M’s decided to put the spokescandies on pause and hire Maya Rudolph as the spokesperson for a while. Yet, concerned people aren’t letting anyone forget about the child slavery lawsuit that was filed in February 2021.
How is it possible that controversies over spokescandy specifications can make more headlines than the child slavery lawsuit a company faces? The PR team has its hands full and finds a way to get consumers to look the other way. Cynical? Perhaps, but the timing is masterfully coincidental.
WGTC has reached out to Mars for comment but has not received a reply at this time.