Free the Slaves has worked with musicians such as Jason Mraz and Grammy Award winner Esperanza Spalding. Spalding performed a benefit concert for FTS in December 2012, featuring Bobby McFerrin, Gretchen Parlato, and a special guest appearance by Paul Simon.[6] Spalding also raised money for the organization during her summer tour.[7]
In response to Kevin Bales's interview with Democracy Now! about Free The Slaves,[10] investigative journalist Christian Parenti wrote a criticism of Bales claiming he had made false claims about the chocolate industry. Specifically, Parenti argues that
Bales goes around fund raising, flogging his book and promoting himself on the basis that he has successfully reformed the chocolate industry and largely halted its use of child labor in West Africa. But no such thing has happened ... Bales' organization FTS defended the chocolate industry when the Department of Labor sought to list cocoa as a product tainted by slave and child labor.[11]
