Category Archives: Africa

New technology to use the entire cocoa fruit – who will it benefit ?

An article in the BBC news site (August 27, 2024) titled “Have Swiss scientists made a chocolate breakthrough?” describes new technology developed at the Federal Institute of Technology at Zurich that claims to use the rest of the coca fruit … Continue reading

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Will customers pay more for ethical sourcing of chocolate bars ?

An article in the Wall Street Journal on June 3, 2024 titled “A U.K. Grocery Store Committed to Paying Farmers More for Cocoa” (https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-u-k-grocery-committed-to-paying-farmers-more-for-cocoa-chocolate-bar-sales-skyrocketed-9977794b) describes a price increase for chocolate bars at Waitrose from 2 pounds to 2.20 pounds, with … Continue reading

Posted in Africa, competitiveness, Coordination, Cost, Global Contexts, labeling, logistics, Prices, Sustainability | Leave a comment

Preventing child labor use for cobalt mining

An article in Fortune (September 1, 2018) titled “Blood, Sweat and Batteries” describes artisanal mining by over 10,000 children using hand tools in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the source of 67% of the world supply of cobalt. With … Continue reading

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Shoe Manufacturing moving from China to Ethiopia as costs increase

An article in the New York Times (June 1, 2017) titled “Chinese maker of Ivanka’s Shoes Looks for Cheaper labor”, describes the Chinese shoe manufacturer, Huajian International, moving some of their production from China to Ethiopia in response to decreased … Continue reading

Posted in Africa, Capacity, China, consumer, Cost, delivery, Global Contexts, logistics, Made in USA, shoes, supplier, Supply Chain Issues, technology, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment