Mörk Chocolate
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 3 November 2026 · 7 sources
Independent Melbourne maker of drinking chocolate.
There's no proof the people who grow its cocoa earn more than the legal minimum, which in Nicaragua is below a living wage, and Mörk Chocolate has no full independent audit.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 1 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, because there's no serious confirmed problem on its record.
- 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.
Good requirements 1 of 6
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
- Not met: Respects worker rightsSome of its cocoa is grown in countries such as Nicaragua and Ecuador, where unions are heavily restricted, and it has no full supply chain audit.
- 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 or links
- Not met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that list
- Not 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 2
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Made partly in countries with poor worker rights, without a full independent audit of its supply chain
Stars it would earn as Good
None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Estimates for its products
Our rules applied to one kind of product at a time, using Mörk Chocolate'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
Mörk Chocolate names some of the countries its cocoa comes from: Nicaragua. The rest is shown as where cocoa is usually grown.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Côte d'IvoireUsual for the industry | Regular violations | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| Nicaragua | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| GhanaUsual for the industry | 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
- Risk across the industry, not a finding about this company: an estimated 1.5 million children work on cocoa farms in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, and most cocoa farmers earn well below a living income. (partly offset by certification or direct sourcing) Source
- Direct trade (self-reported)
- It doesn't show that it checks cocoa farms for child labour and fixes what it finds.
Research notes Mörk says it sources each ingredient personally and works directly with small independent producers so they get fair prices, but it publishes no prices, volumes or supplier list. Its bars and darker drinking chocolates use heirloom Chuno cacao from San José de Bocay, Nicaragua, and its mocha almonds use cacao from Waslala, Nicaragua; no producer is named. Its cacao powder is a blend of unnamed origins while it moves to direct-trade single-origin powder (earlier powder came from Peru). Some products are organic or Fairtrade, but most are not certified.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Fairtrade (incl. FLOCERT and Fairtrade ANZ) | Unclear | Mörk says some products are Fair Trade certified but does not label them; most of the range is not presented as Fairtrade. View |
| US Department of Labor goods lists | Unclear | Its named cacao origin, Nicaragua, is not on the US Department of Labor's cocoa list, but the origins of its blended cacao powder are not disclosed. View |
| Australian Modern Slavery Register | Not covered | No modern slavery statement found; a small business well below the A$100m reporting threshold. View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Not listed | No allegations involving Mörk Chocolate were identified. View |
Sources and actions
Sources 7
Show all 7 sources
- US DOL - List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor (cocoa) · search the archive · Cocoa from Nicaragua and Peru is not listed; cocoa from Brazil, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria and Sierra Leone is.
- SmartCompany (2024) · search the archive · Husband-and-wife founders; poor harvests raised Mörk's cacao costs by up to about 200% in 2024.
- Baking Business - Chocolate that's quintessentially Melbourne · search the archive · Founded by Kiril Shaginov and Josefin Zernell; earlier products used Peruvian cacao powder and Sur del Lago (Venezuela) cacao liquor.
- Bean Bar You - Mork Nicaragua 75% · search the archive · Bar made from heirloom Chuno cacao from San José de Bocay, Nicaragua; no farm or producer named.
Published by Mörk Chocolate or its owner
- Mörk Chocolate - Process · search the archive · Cacao paste from San José de Bocay, Nicaragua (Chuno); powder a blend of origins until direct-trade single origin; coconut sugar from West Java.
- Mörk Chocolate - About · search the archive · Personally sources ingredients, works directly with independent businesses; some products Organic and Fair Trade certified but not labelled.
- Mörk Chocolate - Home · search the archive · Trading in 2026; 100% Nicaraguan Chuno bar; Mocha Almonds with cacao from Waslala, Nicaragua.
Company details
- Headquarters
- Australia
- Last researched
- 3 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Mörk Chocolate ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/mork-chocolate, 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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