11 “Wholesome” Brands And Occupations That Were Caught Relying On Child Labor

We all want to believe that the brands we buy from are ethical and responsible, but unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. From McDonald’s to Cadbury to Starbucks, there are some brands out there that are using child labor, and we’d never expect it from them.

Click right here to get the best of Cracked sent to your inbox.

This list is a compilation of some of the most egregious examples of child labor violations in the corporate world. From McDonald’s getting fined for having a 15-year-old use a deep fryer to a meat processing company’s plant clean-up provider being asked to stop hiring any workers under 18 years old, these stories are a reminder that child labor is not only highly wrong, but it’s also illegal.

In this list, we’ll be taking a look at 11 brands that are using child labor, and the shocking stories behind them. From underage workers in the meat industry to kids working on cocoa farms in Ghana, these stories will (hopefully) make you think twice about where your money is going.

11 Child labor in the palm oil industry: not cool.

Girl scout cookies MADE WITH A report from the Malaysian government estimated that over 33,000 kids were working in the palm oil industry in Malaysia, with many of them between the ages of five and 11. That oil goes into, among other CHILD LABORA things, Girl Scout cookies. CRACKED — *Sheila Fitzgerald/Shutterstock*
**AP News**

10 Chocolate, with a side of exploitation.

Ferrero Rocher Ferrero, one of the biggest chocolate companies in the world, gets about a MADE WITH third of the hazelnuts they use in their chocolates from Turkey, where there's a lot of child labor. CHILD LARGE FRAFRO ROCHER, CRACKED — *Aristaetle2496/Shutterstock*
**The Guardian**

9 Students: the new unpaid labor force.

Schools MADE WIT School districts all over the country are having trouble finding enough staff, so they're hiring students to do things like serve lunch, answer phones, and do CHILD LA other jobs that adults usually do. CRACKED — *SpeedKingz/Shutterstock*
**NBC News**

8 McDonald’s: not kid-friendly.

CRACKED G MADE WITH McDonald's A McDonald's in Tennessee got fined over $3,000 for making a 15- year-old use a deep fryer. Plus, a CHILD LABOR Kentucky McD's had two 10-year-olds working there. All in all, child labor looks like a systemic thing for the House of Ronald. — *Natalia Belay/Shutterstock*
**The Guardian**

7 Child labor, million-dollar penalty.

Pecan A business in Southern Utah was told MADE WITH by a federal judge to pay $1 million in back wages because they were accused of using child labor from the Fundamentalist Church of the Latter Day Saints to work on a pecan farm. CHILD LAR CRACKED — *itor/Shutterstock*
**The Daily Beast**

6 Latte for labor.

Starbucks Kids as young as eight were discovered toiling away on farms in Guatemala that provide Starbucks with its coffee beans. They were working 40 hours a week in tough conditions, and getting paid just a bit more than the cost of a latte. TM MADE WITH CHILD LABOR CRACKED — *ARTISTBELLA/Shutterstock*
**The Guardian**

5 Underage workers: not allowed.

yaut WITH Meat packing clean-up The U.S. Department of Labor asked a court to CHILD LABOR stop the world's biggest meat processing company's plant clean-up provider, Packers Sanitation Services, Inc., from hiring any workers who are under 18 years old. CRACKED — *Chubykin Arkady/Shutterstock*
**CBS News**

4 Cleaning up their mess, literally.

Meat packing clean-up (graveyard shift) JBS, a meat processing company, was accused of hiring dozens of kids aged 13 to 17 to do their sanitation contracts. The kids were reportedly MADE WITH working overnight shifts and were exposed to dangerous machinery and harsh chemicals. CHILD LABOR CRACKED — *Creativa Images/Shutterstock*
**NBC News**

3 Child labor confirmed at Hyundai supplier.

K MADE Hyundai A company owned by Hyundai has been using child labor at a factory in Alabama that supplies parts for the CHILD LARO carmaker. This has been confirmed by the family of three underage workers, as well as eight current and former employees of the factory. 011ХН 154 RUS 238-90-46 CRACKED — *D_K/Shutterstock*
**Reuters**

2 Twelve Tribes: Breaking child labor laws.

Cosmetics packaging NY State looked into the Twelve MADE WITH Tribes commune in Cambridge, Washington County, after it was reported that kids were working in their cosmetics packaging factory. It turned out that the commune had CHILD LABOR broken multiple child labor laws. CRACKED — *Dmitry_Tsvetkov/Shutterstock*
**Times Union**

1 Cadbury accused of child labor exploitation.

made to use machetes to harvest pods. Ghana. Reports say that kids as young as 10 are being being accused of using child labor on cocoa farms in Mondelēz International, which owns Cadbury, is Cadbury CHILD LABOR Cadbury MADE WHIH mm Cadbury Cadbery Cadbury Cadbury Cadbury Cadbury Cadbury Cadbury Cadbury Cadbury Cadbury Casbary CRACKED Cartony — *Hasan1029/Shutterstock*
**The Guardian**

Must Read

15 Pithy Jokes and Quotes to Fill the Last Vacant Crevices of Your Brain

There’s always room for jokes

Authors: By Jesse
Published: April 28, 2024
Comments: 0

Colin Jost’s 10 Best Burns From the White House Correspondents’ Dinner

It was Weekend Update in a tuxedo

Authors: By Matt Solomon
Published: April 28, 2024
Comments: 1

PICTOFACT

30 of the Wildest Experiences People Had in Abandoned Places

‘We came across a dead cat with a Get Well balloon tied around it’

Authors: By Ian Garner
Published: April 28, 2024
Comments: 0

My Very Gonzo Life

A conversation with Dave Goelz, the man who for nearly 50 years has served as the voice and puppeteer of Gonzo — the pain-loving, dare-deviling, chicken-dating, Charles Dickens-impersonating, furry blue star of the Muppets

Authors: By Brian VanHooker
Published: April 28, 2024
Comments: 1

Why the Sequel to ‘Goodfellas’ Was a ‘90s Steve Martin Comedy

‘My Blue Heaven’ was payback for a real mobster’s annoying phone calls

Authors: By JM McNab
Published: April 28, 2024
Comments: 1

Sean Penn’s Angry Letter to Trey Parker and Matt Stone Post-’Team America’ Is Still Hilarious 20 Years Later

Penn had no sense of humor about his parody, but the letter he penned was unintentional comedy gold

Authors: By Keegan Kelly
Published: April 28, 2024
Comments: 1

26 Trivia Tidbits About Movies and TV Shows

30 Random Facts That’ll Juice Your Brain Like a Fat Lemon

12 Rousing Facts to Roll Up Your Eyelids and Read

20 Ridiculed Historical Figures Owed an Apology By Society

25 of the Funniest Things Seen on a Train