You must log in or # to comment.
You also have Zotter in Austria
With quite a few Fair Trade/Organic certifications https://www.zotter.at/en/zotter-experience-world/philosophy
Are there any chocolate companies with well-documented supply chains that don’t use child labor, slave labor, or otherwise exploit cocoa producers? Because everything I’ve seen and heard tells me that its best to just not eat chocolate at all.
I’d say Tony’s would be your best bet? Not using slave labor is their stated goal, no idea how much they stick to it in reality
I’ll look closer at them, thank you!
they allow some percentage of slave labor iirc
Now cross check that with https://www.slavefreechocolate.org/ethical-chocolate-companies to trim down that list quite a bit.
At the very least stick to fair trade certified brands.There are a lot of European brands missing on that website, and judging by the plethora of random small American ones, I assume it’s probably because it’s made by an American.
It also weirdly puts Tony’s in the boycott section, when it’s basically the only big brand trying to actively change their whole supply chain (there’s still progress to be made, but putting it alongside Nestlé? really?).
In any way, it’s good advice in the end.
Despite numerous announced initiatives by companies profiting from child and slave labor, none have produced meaningful results. The underlying issue is the inability to ensure a true living wage for farmers, leading them to resort to unpaid child labor, while the industry strives to keep cacao prices at rock bottom.
The conclusion is clear: consumer-facing marketing claims unravel to reveal no substantial impact, leaving consumers susceptible to being “brandwashed.” Until significant tangible changes are witnessed or an assurance of ethical practices throughout their operations is evident, Tony’s Chocolonely remains excluded from the list.
They at least give a reason for Tony’s to be on the boycott list. But then again, this is the last “news” article they published and it’s now over two years old, so who can really say.
But doesn’t that apply just as much to Fairtrade and other, similar certifications? Tony’s is Fairtrade certified. Seems weird to give Fairtrade as a guide for brands not on the list but then exclude one specifically.
Oh, I did not catch that. It’s entirely possible that Tony’s being on the boycott list is based on outdated information. As far as I know it’s just one person maintaining the page. I think you can also contact them.
I can’t recommend Tony’s Chocolonely enough since they are the only chocolate maker [ I know of ] that actively tries to act against exploitation of cocoa farmers by paying a higher price per kilo. There is a John Oliver Episode on them :)
They are great, here in my hometown (Nottingham, UK) we have a little place called Louisa’s, and as far as I’m aware, she’s the only vegan chocolate maker in the UK. She does direct trade with small family farms so that everyone gets paid fairly (direct trade > fair trade), she also knows a lot about the cocoa plant and so will visit her farmers to help them grow better beans and ensure these farms are run in an ethical fashion.
Her chocolate is absolutely divine too, if you can, order from her.
Warning, it’s pricey, but hopefully you’ll understand why!
They also make good fucking chocolate.
Head and shoulders above most other crap, especially the ones on the top of the picture.
Definition of a conundrum: the only place around me that sells Tony’s chocolate is Wal-Mart.
Do they have an online store in the US?
My only gripe is that it’s impossible to break off two equal pieces, which makes sharing needlessly difficult.
Sh… share?
With people you like, you know?
That’s true xDD
Instead of corporate, mass produced chocolates, please consider locally made, small batch chocolates if you truly want to support your chocolate industry. Also, its so much better.
Several years ago my daughter’s school had a trip to a (small, local) chocolate factory.
For part of the trip the children queued up to dip a marshmallow into a vat of chocolate to taste it.
My daughter was one of the first in the queue, ate hers and went to the back of the queue for a second one… I was so proud 😁
How many drowned?
Who got the factory at the end??… is the workforce paid???
Ah, it was full health & safety… large stainless steel vat containing hot molten chocolate, rotating stirring paddle, steps (unsecured) up to an open inspection hatch… but they wore hair nets…
And, I think they had that policy where all the staff could take as much chocolate as they wanted… so of course, all got sick & tired of that and never took any more.
Did you sign an NDA and this is the only version of the story you are legally allowed to repeat?
(I’m glad for stories like that - I lived visiting factories/companies and farms throughout all school days. Kids need to understand what the production factors are & how logistics connects us all.)
fuck. my chocolatier is probably going to be booked solid during valentimes. i should go on a date this saturday and get some sipping cocoa
Any of these vegan?
The dark almond sea salt from Tony’s is. Ritter Sport and Lindt also have some vegan products, Haribo probably too.
Awesome! Thanks so much!
Ritter Sport is the best, fight me irl if you disagree
the Ferrero brand make nutella and kinder bars, and they also financially support the zionist entity and their ongoing genocide of palestinians. If that’s the kind of thing you’d rather not support i’d suggest avoiding ferrero (and nestle)
Plus they use a ton of palm tree oil, so there’s the environmental impact in top of that.
How ’bout some actual chocolate? https://www.fazer.fi/tuotteet/tuotemerkit/fazerin-sininen/
For those who don’t speak Finnish…
Most of these aren’t chocolate.
Either from a pretentious standpoint (Kinder? Nutella?) or realistic one (does Chupa Chups even make any chocolate items? Haribo *might*)
“European brands”, look inside, american trust funds…
Plain false.
Besides Lindt, which is publicly traded and has a minor share of American investors, almost all the other brands are family owned, which is rare in the modern food industry (Kinder, Nutella, Ritter, Knoppers, Toffifee and Haribo). Tony’s is backed by the Belgian investment group Verlinvest.
Calling palm oil sugar chocolate is insane
Kinder is fairly terrible chocolate though, assuming it’s even legal to call it that.
Yeah, it tastes like what I call ‘Christmas chocolate’.
“Supermarket chocolate box sets”
Be careful of Cadbury, for those considering.
In the US it is mostly Hershey’s, everywhere else it’s fine.
Or just plainly and simply drop all those big chocolate brands. There is so many better, smaller chocolate brands in literally every european country.
