Lily's
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 3 November 2026 · 7 sources
Brand of no-added-sugar chocolate bars and baking chips.
Lily's can't show that the people who grow its cocoa in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana earn a living wage, which workers there are very unlikely to.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 3 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It doesn't show that workers are paid a living wage, and isn't certified as working towards one. On Track needs at least one of these.
- It isn't Harm on record: the most serious problem on its record (child labour, last recorded in 2024) was found by its own checks and is being fixed.
- Lacks transparency is still a poor grade: in supply chains like this, workers who can't be seen to be treated fairly are usually underpaid or unprotected.
- Checks its own supply chain. Lily's looks for problems in its own supply chain and publishes what it finds. It found child labour in 2024 and is fixing it, so it doesn't count against the grade. It's listed below under Confirmed issues.
Good requirements 3 of 6
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
- Met: Respects worker rights
- Not met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standards
- Met: No child or forced labour findings it isn't fixingIts own checks found child labour, which it is fixing. That's listed below and doesn't count against the grade. An unconfirmed report of forced and child labour is listed below. It doesn't affect the grade.
- Not met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that list
- Met: Finds and fixes child labour on cocoa farms (Fairtrade, Fair for Life or its own published monitoring), and traces other high-risk ingredients where they're a major part of its range
Red flags 1
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
| Star | Awarded for |
|---|---|
| Finds and fixes problems, or invests in communities |
Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Estimates for its products
Our rules applied to one kind of product at a time, using Lily's evidence and, where it has product lines, that line's countries. They're estimates: we don't know which factory made any single item.
- A product carrying the Fairtrade mark: Good
Holding one? Scan its barcode for an estimate that uses its care label or ingredients.
Where its cocoa is grown
These are Hershey's cocoa origins across all its brands; Lily's doesn't say where its own cocoa is grown. The rest is shown as where cocoa is usually grown.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Côte d'Ivoire | Regular violations | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| Ghana | Strong protections | Well below a living wage | Low |
| EcuadorUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| CameroonUsual for the industry | Systematic violations | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| NigeriaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| IndonesiaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
Evidence
What we found
- Passes the raw-material check for chocolate: finds and fixes child labour on cocoa farms (Fairtrade, Fair for Life or its own published monitoring).
- Reports child labour cases found and fixed
- Invests in worker and farming communities
- Modern slavery statement
Research notes Lily's says most of its products use cocoa certified by Fair Trade USA, which pays a premium to farmer groups but does not guarantee a living income and is not counted here as Fairtrade International; it names no cocoa origin or factory. Countries shown are those of its owner Hershey, which sources mostly from Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana and reports child labour cases found and remediated there; how much of Lily's cocoa falls within that is not disclosed. Hershey's Income Accelerator reached about 3,500 farming families in 2024.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Fairtrade (incl. FLOCERT and Fairtrade ANZ) | Certified | Most Lily's products use unsweetened chocolate and cocoa certified by Fair Trade USA. View |
| Chocolate Scorecard | Listed | Hershey took part in the 2026 Chocolate Scorecard (7th edition) and won its Farmer Health Award; it scored 60% (mid-tier) in 2025. View |
| Australian Modern Slavery Register | Not covered | Lily's is sold in Australia only through overseas online retailers, so no Australian statement is required. View |
| KnowTheChain | Listed | Hershey scored 41/100 and ranked 5th of 45 in the 2026 KnowTheChain food and beverage benchmark. View |
| US Department of Labor goods lists | Listed | Cocoa from Côte d'Ivoire is listed for child and forced labour and cocoa from Ghana for child labour. View |
Confirmed issues 1
Only confirmed problems are listed, and old ones drop off after 10 to 15 years. A problem the company has fully put right no longer counts against it, and nor does one it finds and is fixing itself. How problems are counted
| Last recorded | What happened | Made amends? |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Hershey's own child labour monitoring found 10,631 children doing inappropriate or hazardous work in its Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana cocoa supply chain, as reported by the company for 2024. Source · search the archiveFound and being fixed by the company Not counted against the grade while the company is actively fixing it, because it found and published it itself. | PartlyHershey says 7,428 of the children identified no longer do hazardous work; monitoring now covers 95% of farming households. |
Unconfirmed reports
Credible reports that haven't been confirmed by a regulator, completed investigation or the company. They're shown for your information and don't affect the grade.
- A 2021 US lawsuit by eight Malian men alleged that Hershey, Nestlé, Mars, Mondelēz and others profited from forced child labour on Ivorian cocoa farms; it was dismissed in 2022 and the appeal rejected in 2025 because specific farms could not be linked to the companies. Source
Sources and actions
Sources 7
Show all 7 sources
- Hershey sets sights on sugar reduction with acquisition (Baking Business, 2021) · search the archive · Hershey agreed to buy Boulder, Colorado-based Lily's in May 2021; stevia-sweetened bars, chips and cups
- Lily's Sweets (iHerb Australia) · search the archive · Lily's bars and baking chips sold online with delivery to Australia
- Hershey Releases 2024 Responsible Business Report · search the archive · Income Accelerator programme reached 3,492 farming families in 2024
- 2026 sustainable chocolate scorecard released (Baking Business) · search the archive · Hershey won the Farmer Health Award in the 2026 Chocolate Scorecard
Published by Lily's or its owner
- Our Story (Lily's) · search the archive · Most products use unsweetened chocolate and cocoa certified Fair Trade by Fair Trade USA; founded 2010 by Cynthia Tice; © The Hershey Company
- Hershey: Child Labor · search the archive · CLMRS covers 95% of cocoa volumes in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana; 10,631 children identified in inappropriate work and 7,428 no longer engaged
- HSY Statement Against Human Trafficking and Slavery · search the archive · Hershey publishes a statement against slavery and human trafficking
Company details
- Owned by
- The Hershey Company
- Headquarters
- United States
- Last researched
- 3 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Lily's ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/lilys, last researched 3 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
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Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Lily's.