A glance into the world of Fair Trade chocolate

Fair trade and chocolate have a long history in the UK – Green & Black’s “Maya Gold” was the first UK product to carry the Fairtrade mark (1994). Although no other Green & Black’s product is fair trade certified, the company has announced that it will bring its entire line over to the other side by 2011 – and despite concerns of Kraft’s take-over of Cadbury’s (who owned Green & Black’s), in February Kraft released a statement in support of this movement. If successful, this will make Green & Black’s the largest supplier of organic and fair trade chocolate in the world.

But they aren’t the only ones… many companies are promoting fair trade and more ethical practices for chocolate harvest. Nestle has jumped on the bandwagon and is transitioning Kit Kat into the fair trade market in the UK and Ireland. This move follows Cadbury’s transition of Dairy Milk to Fair Trade, which was done last year in March. Other companies which are fairly well-known include Divine chocolate, which is the UK’s first farmer-owned chocolate company AND has one of the most diverse fairly-traded chocolate ranges (and can be conveniently purchased in Oxfam and the One World Shop here in Edinburgh, amongst other shops). Divine joined forces with Comic Relief to develop the Dubble line of chocolate, geared specifically towards young people. Products vary from chocolate gold medallions to chocolate bars to mini eggs – all fair trade!

Local chocolate with fair trade sourcing includes chocolate from The Chocolate Tree . Made here in Edinburgh, the people who run The Chocolate Tree have a passion for high quality chocolate and high standards for the sources of all of their ingredients, opting for local, organic and/or fair trade. All that AND they just opened a shop in Bruntsfield, complete with space to sit-in and admire the truffles. Across the street is Coco of Bruntsfield, a long-standing presence in our neighbourhood who supplies organic, high quality chocolate. Coco also makes its chocolate in Edinburgh – and opens its kitchen doors and shares its secrets through chocolatier classes!! – and proudly advocates for fair trade and ethically sourced chocolate as well.

But this is by no means an exclusive list – there are other chocolate companies out there who proudly promote fair trade and ethical sourcing for chocolate (Waitrose and the Co-op each have their own fair trade line, as well as selling others in their shops). And with Easter around the corner, it’s a fantastic time to scout around for fair trade Easter eggs, bunnies and mini-eggs, knowing that our little choices can support people working for fairer wages.

-LO