Chocolate Maker Lindt Faces US Lawsuit Over Child Labor Allegations

Lindt & Spruengli AG has been sued by an activist law firm in the U.S. which alleges the Swiss chocolate maker is falsely promoting its efforts to battle child labor in Ghana and the Ivory Coast from where it sources cocoa.

“Lindt has promised the public that it is working to end this abusive practice in its supply chain and moving towards responsibly and sustainably sourced cocoa,” reads the complaint filed in a District of Columbia court by International Rights Advocates. “But in reality, Lindt continues to profit from child labor while doing little to prevent it” which means consumers are being misled, the Washington D.C.-based law firm said.

International Rights Advocates points specifically to the use of certifications on chocolate packaging that it says falsely present Lindt as a “benevolent actor fighting against child labor.”

Lindt denied the allegations in an email, calling them “misguided” and said the claims have been made “by the same organization against many other chocolate companies.” The Kilchberg, Switzerland-based company added it had “supplier protocols in place, and we systematically investigate suspected cases of child labor in our supply chain.”

In 2025, Lindt introduced its sustainability plan for 2030 and in June announced that all its cocoa would be certified by Rainforest Alliance Certified in future. This type of certification includes guidelines on how to prevent and mitigate child labor.

In Switzerland, campaigners last year collected enough signatures to revive a plebiscite on whether multinational corporations should be held responsible for human rights and environmental lapses abroad.

Top photo: A Lindt & Spruengli AG store in New York, on Monday, Aug. 4, 2025. Bloomberg.