Fair trade chocolate companies that are making a difference
Tony's Chocolonely
‘Things aren't being shared evenly in the chocolate supply chain. The chain starts with millions of farmers who produce cocoa and ends with the billions of consumers who enjoy chocolate. But what about the bit in the middle? This section is dominated by a handful of chocolate giants that profit from keeping the price of cocoa as low as possible. As a result, farmers are forced to live in poverty. And that leads to illegal child labour and modern slavery.’‘As long as the chocolate industry is unequally divided, our bar will stay that way too.’
- 2,5 million farms in Ghana and Ivory Coast produce more than 60% of all cocoa worldwide.
- The average cocoa farmer in the Ivory Coast earns 78 euro cents a day. There’s no way you can live off that or support a family for that meager amount, not even in West Africa.
- In Ghana and the Ivory Coast, 2.1 million children work under illegal conditions because the harvest doesn’t give their parents enough income. We don’t think that’s normal.
- Worse still, recent studies have confirmed that at least 30,000 people are the victims of modern slavery – adults and children who are being forced to grow cocoa and don’t get paid a penny for it.
‘Whenever you enjoy a mouthful of Tony’s you’re eating chocolate made from traceable beans purchased directly from the farmer for a higher price. If we need more cocoa beans, we can work with more farmers who benefit from our recipe for slave free cocoa. By eating our chocolate you’re part of the solution, but you can also do more..’
Divine Chocolate
‘Fairtrade’s vision is a world in which all producers can enjoy secure and sustainable livelihoods, fulfill their potential, and decide on their future.’
Divine chocolate is a farmer-owned company, which uses the
power of chocolate to delight and engage. It brings people together to empower
producers and consumers, by creating fair trading relations. They adopt a
business model called ‘social enterprise’, which uses business to make a
positive change and adopts a social mission.
Divine Chocolate is certified by the Fair Trade Foundation and carry the mark on all of their products’ packaging.
To find out more about Divine Chocolat, visit their website: https://ukshop.divinechocolate.com/uk/shop/
Equal Exchange
They partner with small farmers who grow cacao in the Dominican Republic, Panama, Peru, and Togo and help them gain a meaningful seat at the table.
On their website, you can find fair trade products, including coffee, tea, and chocolate: https://www.equalexchange.co.uk/organic-chocolate/
Supermarket Brands
In the UK, supermarkets like Asda, M&S, Waitrose and
Sainsbury’s offer their own brand's products which are fair trade certified.
Companies like Aldi are moving towards Fair Trade practices
and are making promises.
‘By the end of 2020, 100% of cocoa in our own-label products will be certified to meet one of the following standards: Fairtrade, Fairtrade sourced Ingredients, Rainforest Alliance/ UTZ or Organic.’
Hotel Chocolat
‘You work too hard for bad chocolate. They work too hard for cheap cocoa. We’ve been raising the bar for cocoa-growing since 2002.’
Hotel Chocolat claim they support the principle of Fairtrade and sometimes purchase Fairtrade Cocoa, but do not have any logos on their products. The cocoa farm behind Hotel Chocolat, Rabot Estate does not have Fair Trade accreditation. This is due to the UK’s regulations, which makes it difficult for big companies to get certified.
‘Only smallholdings are eligible usually working to a cooperative model. This creates a barrier between us and some of the best quality and most ethical cocoa on the planet.’
Hotel Chocolat still partners
with farmers from Colombia and Honduras. They also run their own Engaged Ethics
programme in Ghana and have their own farm in St Lucia.
‘We have a deep sense of fairness that extends to our farmers, our customers and future generations.’
