Thin Mint Candy Bar Being Released in June?
The Girl Scouts have teamed up with Nestle to release the new Thin Mint candy bar.
"We are thrilled with the positive response to the Nestle Crunch Girl Scout Candy Bar," according to the Girl Scouts. "The product photo is a retail sales sample and not available for sale at this time. Look forward to some very exciting news in June."
Fans of the Thin Mint cookies, currently on sale, will be thrilled to learn that the bar will be available come June. It is expected to help sales for the Scouts and is part of the 100-year anniversary of the Girl Scouts founding.
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It's an interesting pairing, given that Nestle has recently come under fire for human rights violations. Nestle used child labor in order to harvest cocoa for its candy, according to Corporate Watch.
"These children, ranging in age from 12 to 14 years (and sometimes younger) were being forced to do hard manual labor 80 to 100 hours a week, paid nothing, barely fed and beaten regularly," Corporate Watch stated.
"In the widespread uproar caused by the reports, Nestle expressed its 'concerns' over the use of child labor but could not confirm that none of its chocolate was derived from slave-labor sources," the 2001 report continued.
In 2008 the Permanent Peoples' Tribunal, which is led by Adolfo Perez Esquivel, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, accused Nestle of violating human rights. An article published by the PPT stated that Nestle was guilty of "favoring capital over people's lives."
Nestle, however, has begun working with the Danish Institute for Human Rights in order to investigate the violation claims. "Nestle supports the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and explicitly recognizes the 'Corporate Responsibility to Respect Human Rights," according to Nestle's website.
The Girl Scouts have not publicly acknowledged working with Nestle, but the leaked news and teasing photos may be all the proof people need.
"Girl Scouts is at the forefront of building girl leaders. We embrace the opportunity we have to develop the next generation and future generations of leaders that understand the interconnectedness of the global community," said the scouts' president Connie Lindsey.
It will be interesting to see if there is any backlash from the public about this "interconnectedness" with Nestle. The company has said it is working to enhance conditions for farmers and do away with child labor, but now it appears as though the Girl Scouts may, in fact, be working for Nestle in selling its chocolate.
