Child labour in focus Economies of scale in child labour remediation
Financial
• Pooling resources for the CLMRS across Mission Allies is significantly more cost-effective than individual company efforts. It reduces duplication and eases the burden on farmers and partner cooperatives. • Our data from the first half of the 2024/25 season shows average costs ranging from €40 to €253 in Côte d’Ivoire and €82 to €196 in Ghana. Through Tony’s Open Chain, costs tend to fall at the lower end of these ranges, demonstrating the efficiency gained through economies of scale and a long- term strategic approach. • This is largely due to early detection enabled by frequent monitoring. Most interventions involve younger children, for whom support such as birth certificates, school kits, and bicycles, combined with access to primary education, is relatively low-cost. In contrast, older children often require vocational training, which sits at the higher end of the cost spectrum. • Early identification not only reduces costs and the need for complex remediation but also prevents long-term harm. It keeps children in education, protects their rights and strengthens family and community resilience. Timely intervention maximises successful outcomes and helps families before dependency on child labour income deepens. Fixing symptoms is expensive • Preventing child labour by creating an enabling environment costs far less than ongoing remediation. Structural interventions, such as investing in schools and education infrastructure, address root causes, break cycles of poverty, and create lasting opportunities for children and families. • Tackling child labour case by case is reactive and costly. Community development delivers systemic change. For example, refurbishing a school and canteen costs €9,600 to €75,000, depending on the scope. Over 5 years, this can save €90,000 to €160,000 in remediation costs, with an average return on investment (ROI) of 120% in Côte d’Ivoire and 280% in Ghana. • Child labour often stems from a lack of access to education and meals. Addressing these barriers helps prevent the problem before it starts. Upfront infrastructure investment reduces long-term costs and delivers deeper, sustained impact for cocoa communities and the cocoa supply chain. 17
Tony’s Open Chain enables smarter spending by pooling programme fees to tackle root causes. Mission Allies are better off than trying to make impact by themselves: they can tap into economies of scale, eliminate duplication, und unlock long-term value across people, planet and profit. Focus on cocoa productivity. Investing in farmer productivity is fundamental to securing the long-term success of the cocoa industry. By supporting farm and farmer resilience through targeted infrastructure, training and innovation, we enable more effective farming practices that will drive higher yields and improved crop quality. These interventions (such as labour brigades, farm renovation and direct farm investments) will not only boost short- and medium-term productivity, but also build a resilient farming future with higher household incomes. 15 Risk mitigation. By improving farm resilience and productivity, Tony’s Open Chain reduces exposure to supply shocks caused by climate change or crop disease. This also helps enable a more predictable supply base for all Mission Allies. Competitiveness. Studies show that brands with strong ethics and sustainability practices perform better, even in volatile markets. A Harvard Business Review study involving over 500 brands and 350,000 U.S. consumers, found that highly trusted companies outperform others by up to 400% in market value, with sustainability identified as a key driver of trust, especially among younger generations who are gaining purchasing power. 16
15. According to a study carried out in 2024, Tony’s Open Chain’s top-performing partner cooperative saw only an 11.4% decline in average yields, compared with the 25% average decline in cocoa production in Côte d’Ivoire. Further data will be gathered to monitor progress over coming seasons. See: Bellini Motovska, N., Gonzalez Gaviola, A., Koster, T., & Waarts, Y. (2024). High-Level analysis of recent and current yield in the West African cocoa sector: Trends, possible causes and recommendations for interventions. Wageningen Economic Research, Report 2024-135. P 21-22. 16. Reichheld, Ashley, John Peto, and Cory Ritthaler. “Research: Consumers’ Sustainability Demands Are Rising .” Harvard Business Review, 18 Sept. 2023. Also see: Mingazova, Diliara, Alshaimaa Bahgat Alanadoly, and Suha Fouad Salem. “ Ethics, Brands and Sustainable Consumption.” Brands, Branding, and Consumerism, Springer, 11 Mar. 2025, pp. 345–376. 17. These activities are currently largely funded by Tony’s Chocolonely via the Chocolonely Foundation.
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Ending exploitation in cocoa together
Living income
Climate, environment & productivity
Human rights
Governance & finances
Interesting appendices
Scaling for change
Introduction
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