In a world where the craving for chocolate transcends borders, it’s essential to consider the impact our indulgence has on the lives of those who cultivate, harvest, and produce the cacao beans that give birth to this delectable treat.
Enter the realm of Fair Trade chocolate, a delectable delight that not only satiates our taste buds but also contributes to a more equitable and sustainable global trade system.
What is Fair Trade Chocolate?
Fair Trade chocolate represents a paradigm shift in the cocoa industry. It’s a movement aimed at addressing the imbalances that have historically plagued cacao farmers and their communities.
The core principle of Fair Trade is to ensure that producers, especially small-scale farmers in developing countries, receive fair compensation for their labor and resources, empowering them to improve their quality of life.
The Journey to Fairness
- Living Wages: Fair Trade practices ensure that farmers receive wages that meet or exceed the living wage in their respective regions. This practice uplifts communities by enabling them to invest in education, healthcare, and better farming practices.
- Empowerment of Women: Fair Trade chocolate also promotes gender equality by advocating for the inclusion and empowerment of women in the cacao industry. This, in turn, helps reshape societal norms and fosters more sustainable communities.
- Environmental Stewardship: Many Fair Trade-certified farms adhere to sustainable farming practices, reducing the environmental impact of cocoa cultivation. This includes reduced chemical use, better waste management, and reforestation efforts.
Benefits of Choosing Fair Trade Chocolate
- Better Quality: Fair Trade chocolate often reflects the care and dedication of the farmers who cultivate the cacao beans. When farmers are treated fairly, they are more likely to invest time and effort into producing high-quality beans.
- Ethical Indulgence: Enjoying Fair Trade chocolate allows you to savor each bite without a side helping of guilt. You’ll know that your treat is not tainted by exploitation or unfair labor practices.
- Supporting Communities: Every Fair Trade chocolate purchase contributes to the betterment of cacao-producing communities. By choosing these products, you’re participating in a global movement that aims to break the cycle of poverty and exploitation.
- Promoting Sustainability: Sustainable farming practices endorsed by Fair Trade contribute to healthier ecosystems and preserve the planet’s biodiversity for future generations.
Most people love chocolate, but many of us don’t realize that much of chocolate on the market is produced using exploited workers, including children.
The good news is that there are now fair trade options available for those who want to enjoy their chocolate guilt-free.
Fair Trade Chocolate Brands
Tony’s Chocolonely
Tony’s Chocolonely is a fair trade chocolate brand that is made in a way that is designed to be more ethical and sustainable than traditional chocolate production.
The brand sources its cocoa from small farmers in West Africa, and pays them a fair price for their beans.
The company also works to improve the working conditions and lives of the farmers, by providing training and support in sustainable agriculture practices.
Tony’s Chocolonely chocolate bars are also certified by Fairtrade, meaning that the farmers receive an additional premium for their cocoa.
As a result of these efforts, the brand is able to produce high-quality fair trade chocolate while also making a positive impact on the lives of the farmers and their families.
Raaka Chocolate
Raaka Chocolate stands as a pioneer in the realm of artisanal chocolate, operating as a dedicated bean-to-bar company. Renowned for their unique approach, they specialize in crafting single-origin, raw chocolate that captures the essence of each cacao’s origin.
This commitment to purity and authenticity translates into a chocolate that is not only rich and flavorful but also a true embodiment of the cacao’s natural nuances.
Raaka Chocolate’s innovative process allows discerning chocolate lovers to experience the unadulterated essence of cacao, resulting in a deeply satisfying and flavorful culinary experience.
Krakakoa
Krakakoa is a fair trade chocolate social venture that trains and equips cocoa farmers in Indonesia with the skills and resources to improve their livelihoods and protect the environment through sustainable and organic farming methods.
The farmer-to-bar chocolatier produces artisanal chocolate from 100% Indonesian cocoa beans, bought from the smallholder farmers they train with a premium paid on top of the fair trade minimum price.
With an exquisite packaging reflective of the country’s cultural and ethnic diversity, each chocolate bar is infused with the unique spices and flavors characteristic of the Indonesian archipelago, including chili, sea salt, salted cashew, coconut brittle or cinnamon.
The Functional Chocolate Company
The Functional Chocolate Company is a fair trade chocolate company that makes health-conscious chocolate. The company was founded in 2014 by two health-minded individuals, Julie and Lisa. The company’s mission is to create delicious, healthy chocolate that everyone can enjoy.
The company’s mission is to create delicious, healthy chocolate that can help people feel their best. The company’s products are made with natural ingredients and are free of harmful chemicals.
The Functional Chocolate Company’s products are also vegan, gluten-free, and certified organic. The company offers a variety of products, including chocolate bars, truffles, and hot cocoa mix.
The Functional Chocolate Company’s products are available online and in stores across the United States.
Guittard Chocolate
Guittard is a five generation family company that is committed to delivering products with the highest degree of sustainability. The engagement on the farm level is designed to ensure the long-term success of the farmers and the co-ops.
Quality products, improvements in environment and community are the pillars of the company sourcing efforts.
From collaborating with farmers on their post-harvest techniques to developing community education programs, they work to build relationships throughout our supply chain that will create and maintain long lasting success in cocoa growing communities.
Chocolove
Tucked away in Boulder, Colorado sits an unassuming building where a little magic takes place. Every day, decadent fair trade chocolate bars are carefully crafted using the timeless combination of chocolate and love.
Chocolove make and sell flavors of organically grown and Fair Trade USA chocolate bars.
Chocolove uses only the finest ingredients in its chocolate, including Fair Trade certified cocoa butter and cane sugar.
Chocolove’s fair trade chocolate is also non-GMO and gluten-free. In addition to its delicious taste, Chocolove’s chocolate is also beautiful to look at, with each bar featuring a unique design that reflects the company’s commitment to sustainable sourcing and ethical production.
Davis Chocolate
Davis Chocolate is a family-owned business that was formed to provide a chocolate with a superb flavor, aroma, and complexity with an exceptional taste. The high demand for chocolate worldwide unfortunately takes a toll on the environment and its producers.
Davis Chocolate believes that in order to craft premium, fair trade chocolate, the company must work in ways that do no harm to our planet and create opportunities for the communities where the cacao beans are grown.
Lake Champlain Chocolates
Lake Champlain Chocolates is a fair trade chocolate company that specializes in artisanal chocolate. Founded in 1983, the company has been committed to using only the finest ingredients in all of its products.
Lake Champlain Chocolates sources its cocoa beans from family-owned farms in Peru and Ecuador, and its milk comes from small dairies in Vermont.
The company also uses local fruits and nuts, as well as Vermont honey, to create unique flavors that are beloved by chocolate lovers around the world.
In addition to its delicious chocolates, Lake Champlain Chocolates is also known for its beautiful packaging, which features scenes of Lake Champlain and the Adirondack Mountains.
Island Harvest
Island Harvest was originally founded in 1991 to help manage Kohala’s agricultural lands in the post-sugar era. Island Harvest took over the macadamia orchards that were planted back in the 1970’s and 80’s when sugarcane production became less feasible and plantations shut down throughout the Hawaiian Islands.
With that in mind, Island Harvest was an early adopter of sustainable farming methods and in 2015 began transitioning all the macadamia orchards to be eligible for full organic certification.
With sustainable methods and inputs, Island Harvest seeks to always increase soil life, reduce erosion, and grow healthy trees to produce a healthy crop for its community.
Inside each bag of Island Harvest Organic Macadamias with Dark Chocolate are single-origin, certified organic, Hawaiian macadamia nuts slow-roasted to perfection, covered with indulgent dark chocolate, making for a sweet (but healthy) snack.
Pasha Chocolate Company
The perception of chocolate as a primary source of food allergens often goes unnoticed. However, upon perusing the labels of most chocolate bars, one encounters indications of trace elements from among the “big 8” allergens—peanuts, milk, tree nuts, soy, wheat, gluten, and even eggs.
The challenge associated with these components lies in their presence within chocolate facilities, where their removal with absolute certainty becomes an arduous task.
This is the impetus behind the inception of PASCHA, a venture with the mission to craft the purest and safest chocolate, free from any allergenic ingredients.
Ironically, this pursuit yielded findings that resonate with prior experiences in the water industry—the less manipulation of a food product, the greater the allowance for its innate form, resulting in a taste that is both purer and more exquisite.
Following years of dedicated effort, PASCHA Chocolate emerged—a testament to an uncomplicated and unadulterated approach to chocolate creation.
The hallmark of this endeavor lies in its absolute purity and exceptional flavor profile, bearing the added distinction of being entirely free from any trace of the major food allergens, all eight of them.
TCHO
The company goes beyond supporting fair trade chocolate, opting to establish direct partnerships with growers. Their involvement extends to enhancing plant genetics, refining cacao fermentation processes through fermentaria redesign, and introducing innovative cacao drying racks.
These partnerships also encompass the provision of flavor labs, allowing growers to create chocolate from their own beans—an experience that often marks their first encounter with the fruits of their labor.
To facilitate effective communication, sensory training is offered, enabling a shared understanding of the outcomes achieved.
The overarching goal is to empower partners to cultivate exceptional, flavor-focused cacao, warranting premium compensation that reflects the quality.
This, in turn, contributes to the creation of superior chocolate—dubbed New American Chocolate.
Positioned within the industry, TCHO takes a firm stance against modern slavery. Their intention revolves around heightening awareness about the prevalence of slavery in both the chocolate industry and the wider world.
In an exemplary move, the company commits to avoiding cacao sourced from enslaved labor.
This commitment is symbolized by the prominent inclusion of “NO SLAVERY” on every TCHO product. The company sources beans for their “Chocolatey” line from Ghana, located to the east of Ivory Coast, a neighbor.
While historical reports may have associated “West Africa” with slavery, TCHO asserts that Ghana no longer practices such egregious labor practices in the cacao industry today.
Shaman Chocolates
Shaman’s Chocolate pursues the creation of exceptionally delectable and ethically traded chocolate, all while extending support to the Huichol people.
This indigenous community has revered this divine sustenance for generations. The company maintains an unwavering commitment to making positive contributions across its endeavors.
Rather than prioritizing self-gain or dividends for shareholders, SHAMAN Chocolates remains dedicated solely to the noble cause of upholding the welfare of the Huichol Indians.
Operating as a part of the Dance of the Deer Foundation, Center for Shamanic Studies, situated in Santa Cruz, CA, Shaman Chocolates serves as a conduit for this profound initiative.
For a deeper understanding of the Dance of the Deer’s endeavors and the experiential workshops and pilgrimages guided by Shaman Brant Secunda, individuals can delve into the intricate fabric of their work.
Divine Chocolate
Divine Chocolate stands as a beacon of ethical practices and empowerment within the world of confectionery. As a Fairtrade and farmer-owned chocolate company, Divine Chocolate not only produces delectable treats but also carries a resolute mission: to uplift and empower cocoa farmers.
Their commitment to Fairtrade principles ensures that every bar of chocolate embodies not just exquisite taste, but also a story of fairness, equity, and positive change for the communities behind its creation.
Equal Exchange
Equal Exchange, a remarkable worker-owned cooperative, stands at the crossroads of ethical commerce and delectable indulgence.
Through their dedication, they source Fair Trade chocolate from small-scale farmers in Latin America, cultivating direct relationships that empower these communities and promote sustainable practices.
Notably, their chocolate is not only a testament to their commitment to fairness but also an embodiment of their organic ethos, resulting in a tantalizingly delicious treat that resonates with conscientious consumers seeking both ethical consumption and exquisite flavor.
