Who owns Chaokoh? Forced MONKEY LABOR accusation forces Costco to drop coconut milk brand
Chaokoh Coconut milk is going to be hard to find during your next grocery shopping trip to Costco. The retailer has pledged not to stock coconut products from Thai suppliers who have been accused of using monkeys as forced labor. Costco's decision follows similar action taken by retailers Walgreens, Food Lion, Giant Food and Stop & Shop after People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) alleged that monkeys in Thailand were being used to pick coconuts.
Ingrid Newkirk, president of PETA, said in a statement, "No kind shopper wants monkeys to be chained up and treated like coconut-picking machines. Costco made the right call to reject animal exploitation, and PETA is calling on holdouts like Kroger to follow suit." The animal rights organization also shared a letter by Costco’s vice president Ken Kimble which said, "We have ceased purchasing from our supplier/owner of the brand Chaokoh. We will continue to monitor the implementation of the harvest policies and once satisfied will resume purchasing."
Kimble also said that Costco shared Newkirk’s "concern about the alleged treatment of monkeys". He further wrote, "We have made it clear to the supplier that we do not support the use of monkeys for harvesting and that all harvesting must be done by human labor. In turn, our supplier has contractually required the same of all its suppliers. In addition, our supplier is in the process of visiting every one of its supplier farms to communicate the harvest policies."
According to Kent Stein, PETA's corporate responsibility officer, monkeys pick around 400 coconuts a day while in chains. He said, "Just because something is legal or accepted, it doesn’t mean it’s OK. What really drives this change is retailers not supporting the product, and of course, customers not buying the product. Costco being a major player should have an impact."
Watch the Peta video here:
Who owns Chaokoh?
Chaokoh, the popular coconut milk brand, is produced by the Thailand-based Theppadungporn Coconut Co. Ltd. The company, after auditing coconut plantations using a third party released a 14-page report named 'Monkey-Free Coconut Due Diligence Assessment'. According to the report, 64 out of 817 farms that were randomly selected "did not find the use of monkey for coconut harvesting". The statement can be found on their official website.
According to the website, Jareeporn Theppadungporn is the president of Theppadungporn Coconut while Aphisak Theppadungporn is managing director, Pornsayanut Theppadungporn is director and finance director, Kiattisak Theppadungporn is director and factory manager of Chaokoh, Kriengsak Theppadungporn is director and sales director, and Kornkanapol Theppadungporn is director and factory manager of Mae Ploy (a different brand owned by Theppadungporn).
According to the Nation Thailand, the company exports its products to 45 countries and in 2019, it posted 7B (approx $225M) Thai Baht in revenue. About 80 percent of the company’s revenue comes from exports with US and Canada making up 55 percent of their export market.