Monday, September 27, 2010

Nine Fair Trade Chocolate Bars

Green and Black's uploaded by Madzia Bryll
When Global Exchange starts advertising its Fair Trade Trick or Treat Action Kit, I know we are entering chocolate season.  From Halloween to Thanksgiving to Christmas to Valentine's Day to Easter chocolate lovers (like me!) have a multitude of excuses to buy and eat chocolate.  Yum.

Unfortunately, as John Robbins points out in his post, Is There Child Slavery in Your Chocolate?, some chocolate companies don't treat their cocoa farmers well and/or use child labor.  That's where buying Fair Trade certified chocolate comes in.

According to Fair Trade USA:
"Even though Americans spend $13 billion a year on cocoa products, many small-scale family cocoa farmers face tremendous instability. They are often forced to sell their harvest to local middlemen who use rigged scales or misrepresent world prices. Recent media reports of child slavery on West African cocoa estates show the stark contrast between the delicious treat we enjoy and the often difficult working conditions of the people who produce it.
Fair Trade certification ensures that cocoa farmers receive a fair price for their harvest, creates direct trade links between farmer-owned cooperatives and buyers, and provides access to affordable credit. On Fair Trade farms, slave labor is strictly prohibited and farms are inspected to ensure that Fair Trade standards are being met. "
I can't say I always buy Fair Trade chocolate, but I want to, and part of what stops me is not knowing all of my options.  After doing some searching around, I came up with a pretty good list (Who knew Cadbury Dairy Milk was Fair Trade certified?).
  1. Alter Eco
  2. Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate Bar
  3. Dagoba Dark Chocolate Conacado Bar
  4. Divine
  5. Equal Exchange
  6. Green and Black's
  7. Shaman Organic Chocolates
  8. Sweet Earth Chocolates
  9. Theo's Chocolates
Let me know if more chocolate bars should be added to the list.

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11 comments:

  1. You have my favs covered!

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  2. Theo is easily the best!

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  3. Nancy - That's high praise as you are a chocolate expert!

    Megan - I'd never heard of Theo until I started doing this research. Are they easy to find, or do you need to order them?

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  4. Green and Black's--one of my favorite high end chocolate bars-- will be going 100% Fair Trade very soon!

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  5. Good to know, Joan. I've had Green & Black's before and they are super yummy.

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  6. My all time favourite fair trade chocolate company, and just all around favourite, is Endangered Species Chocolate.

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  7. Hi Sarah!

    I had Endangered Species chocolate on my list, but I couldn't find evidence that they were fair trade certified. Instead they describe themselves as using "ethical trade criteria" which may be the same, or better than when they were Fair Trade certified, its just hard for consumers to judge without an outside standard.

    Here's more info:

    http://www.chocolatebar.com/pages.php?pageid=5

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  8. Theo's a little tough to find. Most Whole Foods stores carry them, as do some independent bookstores and coffee shops. Their website has lots of info on where to buy--they ship, but that can get pricey. Lucky for me, my partner is a Theonista! She loads me up on samples.

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  9. Anonymous3:59 PM

    There are several great chocolate bars sold at Senor Murphy Chocolates in La Fonda on the Plaza which are organic and fair trade. They are sold under the name Justice bars. They are Dark Chocolate Chile Bar with Pistachios, Milk Chocolate Bar with Pecans and the Dark Chocolate Bar with Mint and can be ordered from the website at www.senormurphy.com.

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  10. Savor the exquisite taste of nine fair trade chocolate bars, and enhance your taste of coffee with bones coffee coupon code. Savour ethically-sourced chocolate blends with fine coffee beans at a discounted price.

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