Gosh, how did it get to be almost Easter time again? Wasn't Christmas like, last week? Apparently the year has gotten away from me again!
Anyway, I'm not buying my girls chocolate Easter eggs this year. Shocking, isn't it? Well, not from my point of view. When I first started blogging about our simple living journey 2 1/2 years ago, one of the first blogs I came across was Eilleen's, at Consumption Rebellion. In some of her posts she talked about "blood chocolate", or the common use of child slave labour in the production of cocoa beans in many African nations and posted a couple of videos (here, here and here) which utterly horrified me and changed my view of chocolate forever.
These days, I can't in all good conscience give my children chocolate Easter eggs, knowing that someone else's children were cruelly exploited to produce them.
Although modern Easter is a mish-mash of Christian and pagan ideology, it's primarily supposed to be a holiday (holy-day) to ponder Jesus' act of dying on the cross to save Christians from their sins, and to celebrate his rise from the dead.
Does anyone else see the horrible irony of big multi-national chocolate companies promoting the sales of their products at Easter with advertising showing happy, healthy (and predominately white) children devouring the chocolate they make from cocoa beans using child slave labour on the other side of the world?
If you like your chocolate, there is good news however - there are several brands of chocolate (and Easter eggs) which are child-labour free; those with a FAIRTRADE symbol. You can find a list of Fairtrade chocolates at the World Vision Don't Trade Lives website (the PDF file is here).
Last week, the Fairtrade Association of Australia issued a press release saying that this year, two Australian companies are offering Fairtrade chocolate Easter Eggs: Chocolatier and Heritage Fine Chocolates. Yay! Not only are they child-labour free Easter eggs, they are Australian companies as well (so you'd be supporting local businesses). From the media release:
Where to buy Fairtrade Certified Easter Eggs and chocolate:
Chocolatier Fairtrade Easter Eggs are available from David Jones stores nationally, selected Woolworths and Safeway stores, a range of specialty stores, Chocolatier’s two Melbourne stores (North Ivanhoe and Hampton) and online at http://www.chocolatiershop.elocal.com.au/
Heritage Fine Chocolates have Fairtrade Certified Milk and Dark Chocolate Easter Eggs available in Melbourne from their store at the Prahran Market, 163 Commercial Rd, South Yarra QLD 3141.
Oxfam Shops are selling Easter hampers as well as their own and other brands of Fairtrade chocolate, in store and online at www.oxfamshop.org.au
The Trading Circle has fair trade Easter Eggs and pre-wrapped Easter chocolate packs available from their Melbourne shop at 261 Victoria Street, Abbotsford or contact Brigid Corcoran on (03) 9421 6874 or brigid.corcoran@goodshep.com.au
Plus look for the FAIRTRADE Label on chocolate at speciality stores, health food shops and major retailers nationwide including Coles, Target and IGA.
You can read more about chocolate and child labour here.
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So, what ARE we doing for Easter this year?
As I said, I won't be buying my girls chocolate eggs, I'll leave that up to their doting grandparents. I have felt in previous years that they ended up with WAY too much chocolate anyway; I'd end up trying to hide most of it away and dole it out in small amounts for weeks on end (yep, I am that cruel ;-). I also hate the waste involved in all that individual wrapping which gets thrown away.
Last year I decided that both the girls and I love the Easter egg hunt too much to do away with it - it's the thrill of the chase and the delight in finding treasures isn't it? - so I started looking for alternatives to chocolate eggs . I love the American tradition of painting real (blown and emptied) chicken eggs, and it may be something we do in future, but for now I suspect many, many eggs would be broken and there would be tears aplenty! (Although my girls might be more mature about breakages than me ;-) Plus, I thought it would be nicer to be able to keep the eggs at the end for future use.
I know nothing about felting, so although I loved these felted eggs I kept looking around on the 'net. Then I found this pattern, and I made a few stuffed, patchwork eggs using material scraps. They turned out OK, although I am not a very good sewer (or stuffer!) so they were a bit wonky LOL, but my girls loved them. I LOVE this pattern for a fabric egg with a secret pocket just big enough to tuck in a little something for my girls, and I am hoping to get the time to make some this year.
Otherwise, we will just be using the wooden eggs* I asked my talented father-in-law to make for us, as I mentioned last year. He turned them on his lathe from scrap pieces of timber he had in his workshop. As usual, I love to leave things until the last minute, LOL, so am only just getting around to painting the eggs this week! I personally, quite like the raw timber look:
My girls, however, are more into "pretty", so I was busy yesterday applying an undercoat of paint to them all:
After I finish here, I hope to start doing some details, although they won't be anything spectacular! Unlike my crafty mother, I am not the least bit artistic, so my details will consist of spots and stripes LOL. When they are dry I will finish them with a couple of clear Bio wood varnish to seal them. If they look half decent I might post more pics when I am done :-)
* If you don't have a word-working friend or relative like me, you can buy wooden 'eggs' at craft suppliers or wood-working shops. You can also buy plastic and foam 'eggs' from craft suppliers (and plastic dummy eggs are available at poultry supplies stores) which are cheaper but personally, I'm not keen on these from an environmental point of view.
And, speaking of being blessed with talented relatives, my parents are downsizing homes in the next year or so, and my (multi-talented) Mum is rehoming many of her dolls and bears she has made over the years. Just in time for Easter, she passed on three little bunny dolls (one for each of my girls).
Aren't they adorable? Chocolate, or no chocolate, my girls aren't going to feel 'deprived' this year, that's for sure!
15 comments:
A little cheaper than buying chocolate eggs, and probably easier to source at most supermarkets, is buying blocks of chocolate and melting them - put them in a mould (which you can re-use every year) and leave them overnight to set.
That's probably the option I'll be taking.
Hi Kate,
Yes, I've no doubt the Fairtrade eggs are not cheap LOL, so I like your option. I was thinking of melting chocolate and letting the girls 'paint' egg shapes on baking paper with it, decorating and then peeling them off when they are set, but I'm sure they'd like painting the moulds as well.
Cheers, Julie
Hiya! Just to help you out a bit, you got the American tradition a teensy bit wrong ;) Yes, some folks blow out the goop after dying eggs. However, far more standard (and less breakable) is to hard-boil the eggs, dry, dye/paint (they sell dozens of style of dip-and-dye kits at the grocery store), hide, find, ooh and ahh, then peel, chop and have them for egg salad!
The dyes are simple to make. Hmm...gives me an idea for a post! Yay!
We've made a tradition out of buying chocolate to make our own, but in limited amounts, so it's feasible to do with fair trade chocolate without breaking the bank.
Something we will be introducing this year is to make easter shaped short bread biscuits to decorate for the cousins (something different to chocolate but still treaty)
I was going to say the same as "the city mouse", I think a lot of Americans just hard cook the eggs and then dye/paint them. We've used a few natural dyes in the past,but the kids enjoy the brighter colors from the food coloring dyes.
Then if they drop them or they get crushed it's not the end of the world, as they know already that we aren't keeping them.
Have a Happy Easter.
Also in Norway, we hard boil and either plant dye or paint the eggs. We do blow and paint also, but those are for indoor decoration; hanging on branches like pussy willow. I posted about our egg hunt last year, I dyed the eggs with onion peel - the easiest thing to do. You can see pics here: http://earthandliving.blogspot.com/2008/03/good-morning-spring.html
new reader chiming in... yes, hard boil them first and then dye. I remember as a child using food dye and vinegar, but now we use the kits. My hubby's family also do the hollow eggs, but fill with confetti and smash them on each other's head. What can I say? they are from Texas and Jewish ;)
Hi Julie,
Thanks for some good ideas. Miss Berry is 18 months old and I want to start our easter tradition in a way we mean to continue - non consumerist and without blood chocolate.
I love the fabric eggs. I was also thinking of making Miss Berry some felt carrots and maybe a bunny. Or perhaps I should make her a Bilby.
Emma
Can you knit? Here's a free pattern for little knitted eggs, lovely if your girls like pretty.
www.littlecottonrabbits.typepad.co.uk
There's a button on the sidebar for 'free patterns', then scroll way down past all the little teddy patterns an there it is.
After our hard-boiled, dyed/painted egg hunt, we then have a great time of making deviled eggs to have with the noon or evening meal. Kids love to pop the yolks out into the bowl and mash them with a fork so they are actually helping cook their prizes!
But, a big thank you for posting about child labor and chocolate. Sometimes we just need a reminder that our traditions need to change so as to do no harm.
I am trying to figure out a way to get Haighs to use FairTrade Chocolate as they do some superb chocs and a very good job at supporting the nearly extinct Australian Bilby with their Easter Bilby profject. Read here:
http://haighschocolates.com.au/our_company/environment.html
In the meantime I have made some very simple and frugal Easter Bunnies for my girls from my stash of fabric - seen on my blog and am going to get set making those gorgeous pocketed eggs for our hunt. I love that idea - why didn't I think of that?
Thanks for all the great ideas for alterntives to chocolate easter eggs....definately won't be buying non-fair trade choc eggs!. I think we will boil and paint some of our own chook eggs. Will be the perfect breakfast...I used to love doing that when i was a kid.
Your girls are going to love those dolls!
Hi Kelly,
Oops, thanks! Hard-boiling makes much more sense to me (from a time-saving point of view LOL). In my defence, I don't eat plain eggs so it never occured to me to do it that way and eat them afterwards!
Hi MistressB,
Ooh yum. I have a chocolate shortbread recipe on my blog (using Fairtrade cocoa of course ;-) which is delish, great idea!
Hi Mim,
Happy Easter to you too :-) Yep, the hard-boiled thing makes much more sense to me, I will be doing that with my girls next year I think.
Hi skymring,
Thanks for the link, I'm off to have a look in a minute :-)
Hi Lisa,
Actually smashing confetti-eggs on each other's heads appeals to my bizarre sense of humour LOL. Weird, but in a cool way.
Hi Emma,
Ooh yes, Bilby's are too cute. Love the felt carrots idea too, I might have to pinch that :-)
Hi Belle,
Ooh, too cute! I'm a beginner knitter, but I reckon my mother could knit those bunnies up super-quickly! Thanks :-)
Hi Ladyfromthewoods,
What a great idea, making devilled eggs together, what fun!
Hi Cee,
Aw, those bunnies are too cute! Let me know how you go with convincing Haighs to go Fairtrade, 'cause I always used to buy their Bilby's every year (cuter than the usual rabbits :-)
Hi Tricia,
Ooh yes, use your own chookie eggs, and post pics after you've decorated them please :-)
Cheers, Julie
Julie I have written to Haighs who passed my email onto the Confectionary Manufacturers Association who say they are working to improve things. All responses happened quickly but I don't think there'll be a Fairtrade Haighs. You can read my post about it all here: http://ceelew.blogspot.com/2009/04/ethical-easter.html
I am happy to forward you the letters if you want to read any further. I am super keen to hear your comments from your perspective.
Hope you enjoyed your Easter Break.
Cheers
Cee
Hi Cee,
Wow that's great that you received such a prompt reply from Haigh's. I love their chocolate too, it's divine, what a pity they don't look like taking the Fairtrade accreditation any further :-( I'm off to read your post about it on your blog...
Cheers, Julie
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