72% of the world's cacao is grown in West Africa, in the country of Ghana and the Ivory Coast. Part of the problem, understandably is the extreme poverty faced by the farmers, and the price of cacao dropping because buyers keep demanding cheaper beans. To be able to support their families, afford fertilizer and make a small profit, the growers cannot afford to pay their workers, and thus come to rely on child labor as a cheap, reliable way to keep their farms running and survive. 
The largest offenders in purchasing chocolate from farms that use child slave labor are: Nestle, M&M, Hershey. Companies that have started to take steps in the right direction and to protect the rights of chocolate farmers, but still have a long way to go are: Godiva, Starbucks, Ghiradelli/ Lindt, Dagoba and Endangered Species Chocolate. The best bet are these companies who are committed to sustainability, and improving the lives of chocolate farmers globally. They are: Sweet Earth Chocolates, Divine Chocolate, and Equal Exchange. This list was provided by the International Labor Rights Forum in Washington, DC.
While there are always some people who are more dedicated to bringing about positive change in the world than others, I would like to suggest the personal activism of Teun van de Keuken, a chocolate lover in Amsterdam. Upon discovery of this issue, he decided to eat 19 chocolate bars and then turned himself over to the police for knowingly purchasing a product made with slave labor, which he says under the Dutch legal system is a criminal act. "At first, I just called the police and said I did a terrible thing. They said, 'Don't worry, we all eat chocolate, good-bye.' Then I hired a lawyer." And that didn't stop him. He has produced a film, called Tony and the Slave Free Chocolate Factory (which you can check out on youtube) and is on a mission to bring about awareness of this problem. This issue is extremely complex to be sure, with poverty being a huge contributing factor.
However instead of boycotting chocolate, the first steps in doing something to bring about positive change would be to 1) buy fair trade chocolate, 2) buy organic chocolate- since they have higher standards than regular products, many experts say that those farms are unlikely to be using forced labor, 3) write to many of the large chocolatiers and complain about their lack of compliance with international policy. 4) read up more on the issue.
However instead of boycotting chocolate, the first steps in doing something to bring about positive change would be to 1) buy fair trade chocolate, 2) buy organic chocolate- since they have higher standards than regular products, many experts say that those farms are unlikely to be using forced labor, 3) write to many of the large chocolatiers and complain about their lack of compliance with international policy. 4) read up more on the issue.
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