In case anyone wants to copy and paste it: my letter to the company was as simple as this! I think we just need to let these companies KNOW that we the consumers do care! :D Dear Russel Stover, I have become aware that slavery is a common problem in the cocoa industry. Can you tell me what Russel Stover is doing to ensure that all workers in your supply chain are paid a fair wage and are otherwise fairly treated? Thank you, Deirdre Mars

Here's a link to the contact us page for anyone else who would like to urge RS to go fair-trade! http://www.russellstover.com/jump.jsp?itemType=CATEGORY&itemID=179&path=1,3,165,179

I wrote an email to Russell Stover five months ago and received a blanket response that the chocolate industry was concerned about slave labor and working diligently to end the problem. I then wrote directly to the presidents of the company and asked for Russell Stover's specific position and its guarantee that slave labor was not used for its products. I also explained NFS' interest in working with companies and referred them to Free2work.org. (They do purchase from the Ivory Coast.) I received one phone message stating that RS was concerned about the slave labor issue and that it would send me a letter outlining its position but that it was not willing to go through the Free2work process. That was four months ago and I have yet to receive the letter from Russell Stover that its secretary had promised was coming to me. I am in process of writing a follow up letter. Russell Stover also Sees Candies. Karre NFS-KS.