Lindt vs. Tony's Chocolonely vs. Feastables: Who Is Really Fair to Cocoa Farmers?

Three chocolate companies. The same impossible promise. And not one of them can actually prove it. Lindt is being sued in a US federal court over a sentence printed on the back of its wrapper. Lindt denies the allegations, and the lawsuit asks for no damages at all — not one dollar. Tony's Chocolonely was founded specifically to prove chocolate could be made without illegal labour. It traces its beans, pays above the state price, and publishes what it finds. Its own reported numbers often look worse than its competitors'. Feastables, from MrBeast, says 100% of its cocoa is Fairtrade certified. It has also overstated the research behind its messaging. So who is actually fair to cocoa farmers? The honest answer is the one nobody puts on a wrapper, and it comes down to a single number that none of these three companies control. On 1 September 2026, Ivory Coast set its guaranteed farmgate price at 1,200 CFA francs per kilogram — about $2.12. At the start of the previous main crop it was 2,800 francs. Roughly 57% lower. Over the same summer, world cocoa futures rose between 75% and 80%. The price of cocoa went up. The price paid to the people growing it went down. Every company in this video buys beans at a price set by two West African governments, and none of them can rewrite it. CHAPTERS 00:00 A chocolate bunny goes to the Supreme Court 01:30 The lawsuit that wants no money 03:00 The $2.12 nobody controls 05:00 Twenty-five years of missed deadlines 07:00 Why a certificate cannot be verified 08:30 The fair case for Lindt 10:00 Tony's, Feastables and the honesty penalty 11:30 What a certificate cannot tell you WHAT IS ALLEGED AND WHAT IS PROVEN The lawsuit described here contains allegations that have not been tested in court. No court has found Lindt liable for anything. Lindt says it takes the issue of child labour very seriously, has supplier protocols in place, and systematically investigates suspected cases in its supply chain. The presence of child labour in West African cocoa production is separately documented by independent research and is not in dispute. What is in dispute is whether any particular company has misdescribed its own programmes. Nothing here is an accusation against any individual farmer, cooperative or employee. SOURCES NORC at the University of Chicago, research on child labour in cocoa production in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire Harkin-Engel Protocol (2001) and its subsequent deadline extensions Côte d'Ivoire Conseil du Café-Cacao farmgate price announcements International Rights Advocates case filings Lindt & Sprüngli public statements and sustainability reporting Tony's Chocolonely annual impact reporting Feastables public sourcing claims Subscribe — this channel takes one well-known brand and works out where the money actually goes. #Lindt #Chocolate #MrBeast