The hidden cost of Easter eggs: Human rights lacking for cocoa farmers supplying our favourite brands

• Cocoa farmers in all production zones visited by UK-based charity in Cote D’Ivoire lacked human rights to water and sanitation

• Lack of basic water and sanitation listed by ILO as a key indicator of “unsafe, degrading and exploitative” working conditions

Hidden underneath the foil of the millions of chocolate eggs set to be consumed in the UK, lies a staggering environmental and human rights emergency that threatens to leave a bitter taste in the mouth of consumers.

With millions of families across the UK preparing to celebrate Easter, a stark disparity remains hidden within the global chocolate supply chain. The production of cocoa remains highly profitable for the chocolate sector, while the communities at its source are trapped in water poverty. Despite having the ability to influence change, the chocolate sector has done little to stop these conditions, benefiting from a system where safe drinking water is a luxury rather than a right.

This failure is now being cast in a more urgent light, as Water Witness today releases a new report [1] that identifies the absence of basic water and sanitation and exploitative working conditions. 

While the global chocolate industry is valued at over $130 billion, the 1.13 million smallholder farmers in Côte d’Ivoire—who provide 40% of the world’s cocoa—are living in a state of extreme water poverty.[2] Chocolate has one of the largest water footprints of any food product, with 2400 litres, or 16 bathtubs, of water needed to produce a 100g chocolate bar.  [3]

The investigation found that in 100% of the communities visited, there was no reliable access to safe drinking water, sanitation, or hygiene.

The report paints a harrowing picture of life at the beginning of the supply chain. Families producing cocoa for major global brands have no choice but to source drinking water from unsafe ditches, streams, and shallow wells. The study notes that open defecation remains widespread due to a lack of basic toilets. 

Access to safe water and sanitation are recognised by the United Nations as fundamental human rights, and are enshrined in multiple International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions. The ILO emphasises that inadequate access to water, sanitation and hygiene in the workplace contributes to unsafe, degrading, and exploitative labour environments. This failure to safeguard these human rights in the cocoa supply chain violates workers’ dignity and undermines the legitimacy of the chocolate sector’s ESG mechanisms. 

A Climate Disaster ‘Seen Coming’

The report arrives as UK chocolate prices have surged by as much as 44% over the last year.[4] While industry analysts point to poor harvests, the study finds that these losses are closely linked to climate shocks long predicted by scientists — and that major traders and brands have not acted at the scale needed to build farmer resilience.

Unusual and intense rainfall patterns have decimated cocoa yields in Cote D’Ivoire, with some regions reporting yields down by 90%. Despite posting record profits in 2024, the chocolate industry has left smallholders to bear these losses alone. None of the communities consulted reported receiving meaningful support—such as climate-smart seeds, seasonal forecasting, or crop insurance—from the corporations that buy their beans.

The Environmental Fallout

The lack of a financial safety net is driving a new wave of environmental destruction. In a desperate bid to replace decimated harvests and meet basic survival needs, farmers are turning to alternative sources of income, including deforestation.

A Call for Reform

The study concludes that the industry’s current ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) frameworks are "systemically flawed." It calls for a transition to a Fair Water Footprint, urging the UK government, financiers, and retailers to move beyond voluntary standards.

Key recommendations from the report include:

• Introduction of a UK Business, Human Rights and Environment Act, requiring UK companies and public institutions to identify and prevent human rights and environmental harms, including those related to water, across their domestic operations and international supply chains

• Mandatory WASH Reporting: Making access to safe water and sanitation a reportable and audited supply chain metric for all cocoa importers

• Farmgate Price Reform: Adjusting the price paid to farmers to include a "resilience buffer," supporting  them to survive yield collapses without resorting to child labour or deforestation

• Direct Investment: Channelling industry profits into rural water infrastructure and climate-smart agricultural extension services

Mrs. Koua, a cocoa grower from the Moronou Region said: “We have no water here… the children go on bikes to the well. It might be dirty, but we have no choice – we can’t afford to care about quality. We are not in good health here… we get malaria and diarrhoea as there is no good sanitation. We can’t reinvest anything because we don’t earn enough.”

Mr. Diamonde Lancine, a producer representative from the Haut Sassandra Region said: “Production is down to 20% due to changes in rainfall and drought. This year we’ve never seen a drop like it – the worst harvest we’ve ever had. The rain is in chaos… the seasons aren’t working. When I think of what is happening I feel like crying. Our parents have fought to produce good quality cocoa but in the end we have nothing. We’ve never received support from the companies.” 

Water Witness CEO, Dr Nick Hepworth, said: “The water footprint of chocolate is grotesquely unfair. It is a sector where brands are posting record profits  while their primary producers lack the most basic of human rights. This water poverty locks communities, particularly women and girls, into a cycle of ill-health and lost opportunity. But you can change this by demanding action from MPs and brands.”

The report’s launch coincides with a new 30-second film from Water Witness, which warns UK consumers the brands we know and love are selling us inequality by the gallon, and calls on people to take action by calling on MPs for a UK Business, Human Rights and Environment Act to make sure all workers have their human rights protected. 

-ENDS-

LINK TO FILM: https://youtu.be/eflj_gSX4gg

About Water Witness

Water Witness leads action, research and advocacy for a fair water future, so that all people can access the water they need to thrive, and are protected against floods, droughts, pollution, ecosystem, degradation and water conflict.

Notes to Editors

Water Witness CEO and lead researcher on the report, Dr Nick Hepworth, is available for an interview. Please contact jonathan.oconnor@finnpartners.com for further information.

[1] How fair is chocolate’s water footprint? Water Witness, March 2025 WW_Briefing_Note_Chocolate_Water_Footprint_proof_06FINAL+FEB26.pdf 

[2] How fair is chocolate’s water footprint? Water Witness, March 2025 Data drawn from Barry Callebaut Agrilogic White Paper 2023 which gives average household size supported per farmer as 10 WW_Briefing_Note_Chocolate_Water_Footprint_proof_06FINAL+FEB26.pdf

[3] How fair is chocolate’s water footprint? Water Witness, March 2025 WW_Briefing_Note_Chocolate_Water_Footprint_proof_06FINAL+FEB26.pdf 

[4] How fair is chocolate’s water footprint? Water Witness, March 2025 WW_Briefing_Note_Chocolate_Water_Footprint_proof_06FINAL+FEB26.pdf