Fourth-graders at Mamaroneck Avenue School are doing their part to fight against child slavery in West Africa in the republic of the Ivory Coast.

Led by teachers Lisa Goldstein and Brett Sussman, the students are spearheading a boycott against chocolate manufactured by Mars Inc., which has been producing chocolate candy since the early 1900s.

"Apparently, chocolate companies have been purchasing cocoa beans from distributors that purchase it from farmers at low cost. As a result, many farmers use enslaved children to pick the beans," said Sussman, a fourth-grade teacher.

According to some online articles and an American Federation of Teachers newspaper article read by Sussman, Mars Inc. is violating fair trade laws. The candy company should be buying fair trade certified cocoa at 80 cents a pound, but the company is purchasing cocoa at about 30 cents a pound, said Goldstein, a fourth-grade teacher. Therefore, because the middleman involved in the purchase of cocoa is being paid less, farmers who produce the cocoa are being paid less. So, the farmers use enslaved children as workers and pay them little or close to nothing, Goldstein said.

According to its Web site, Global Exchange, an international human rights organization dedicated to promoting political, social and environmental justice globally since 1988, said cocoa farms are home to widespread child labor and even child slavery, especially in West Africa. The organization is telling Mars officials to start selling fair trade certified chocolate.

Mars said it is aware of the problem and is working on solutions. "This is an issue that the entire chocolate industry has been working on for three years," said Liliana Esposito, spokeswoman for Masterfoods USA, the parent company of Mars Inc. "As a company, we are choosing not to take part in a fair trade program," Esposito said. "The programs we support have two goals in mind. We signed a protocol agreement in 2001 to ensure that appropriate labor practices are being used on farms and to raise the income of cocoa farmers." Esposito said the protocol agreement involves the company working with several human rights groups and business organizations.

Fourth-graders at Mamaroneck Avenue School are making their community aware of this issue. "We have been putting up posters around the school and writing letters to Mars Inc.," said fourth-grader Molly Scudder. Sussman said the students are planning to initiate a major campaign on the issue this spring. "We plan on campaigning on the night before Easter to encourage people to make smart buying decisions," Sussman said. "Because Mars is such a large company, they need to be responsible in their business deals."

Mars produces M&Ms, Mars, Milky Way, Snickers, Twix and several other snack.

The students have not received any response from Mars. The students said they received a positive response from Mamaroneck school district Superintendent Sherry King.