Letter from Green & Blacks Re Fairtrade

I recently wrote to Green & Blacks regarding the lack of Fairtrade logos on much of their chocolate.  I may be wrong but I thought they used to display the logo on all of their chocolate.  Anyhoo - below is the text of their reply in full for you to make your own judgements. 

Dear Richard

Thank you for your recent email regarding our fair-trade principles.

Green & Black's has two Fairtrade lines- the Maya Gold range and our Cocoa powder. These are certified by the Fairtrade Foundation and thus carry the Fairtrade mark. All ingredients that go into these products, including the cocoa beans, which originate from Belize, meet standards set by the Fairtrade Foundation. These products have been certified Fairtrade since their launch into the marketplace and continue to be.

We support the principle of fair-trade; giving producers a fair price for their goods, treating them justly and fairly, developing strong and stable supplier relationships and also investing in local infrastructure to improve lives for the communities. The Fairtrade model focuses on helping farmers in less developed countries trade with richer nations through a protective scheme. Using the formal Fairtrade system is one way of helping improve the livelihoods of farmers, but this is not the only way.

Indeed, there are many delicious organic ingredients that are not available with certified Fairtrade status. All our chocolate is made from organic, Trinitario type cocoa; quality beans that command a substantial price premium. Therefore, the price we pay is significantly higher than the market price, so that the farmers get a fair deal from us. We also invest money and time in the communities that the farmers live in.

We support, respect and admire the work that the Fairtrade Foundation does to educate consumers about ethical spending, and we are proud to operate our own ethical business practices, even when it is not possible for us to use the Fairtrade mark.

Our Maya Gold chocolate was created as a result of a visit to Belize by Craig Sams (our founder and President of Green & Black’s and once the chairman of Soil Association, the UK organic standards authority) and his wife Josephine Fairley who were inspired by the natural taste of a traditional Mayan drink they sampled. During their time there they found the local cocoa growers were being poorly treated by a large chocolate corporation and so they offered to trade directly with them to help improve the way of life of the individuals as well as their communities. They guaranteed that they would buy every cocoa bean that the farmers produced and would provide project management for commercial farming activities. As a result of these virtuous ground rules that Craig and Josephine laid down, they were approached by the Fairtrade Foundation, who granted this bar Fairtrade status in 1994. This was the first product awarded Fairtrade status in the United Kingdom. Green & Black’s together with Fairtrade Foundation built practices that the Fairtrade foundation still honour throughout their everyday practice.

Green & Black's has been buying organic cocoa from the TCGA farmer's co-operative (Toledo, Cacao Growers Association) in Belize since 1994. Toledo District is the poorest part of Belize. We pay a minimum guaranteed price, substantially above the world cocoa price. This has enabled the TCGA and its farmers achieve greater economical sustainability and so improve the quality of life of the local community.

In 2003, we extended our activities with the cocoa farmers and started our Belize Programme to provide even more support. The investment in cocoa farming communities was used to help improve management and farming practices, rehabilitate hurricane-damaged crops, plant more cocoa trees, and train farmers in better growing methods. Green & Black's continue to provide technical advice and on the ground support to the farmers.

Prior to June 2003, there was declining TCGA membership and cocoa bean production was static. Today, there is a strong feeling of ownership among the TCGA executive and the farmers. The former Chairman of the TCGA, Pablo Cal has said that he was "very excited about the [cocoa] industry." Since 2003, more farmers have joined the TCGA (membership has grown from 200 to over 1000) and many farmers have renovated their farms.

By helping these cocoa farmers directly, we believe we make a real difference. In the almost 15 years we have been involved, we have seen evidence of this positive influence, with more farmers being able to send their children to school, due to increased membership of the TGCA and the resulting increase in money being earned by farmers in the area. We have also celebrated the planting of one million cocoa trees in Belize, since the start of the Belize Project. The cocoa trees provide cocoa pods all year round and can stay productive for generations. We will continue to support the cocoa farmers from Belize.

Throughout our range, we are committed to applying Ethical Sourcing Standards in our own work place and we expect our suppliers, co-manufacturers and business partners to do so too. Respect for human rights, ethical trading, organics and the environment are fundamental to how we work. We also believe that customer, consumers, government and society expect companies to behave in ethical and responsible ways.

The Green & Black's Ethical Sourcing Standards are based on International Labour Organisation Conventions, the UN Declaration of Human Rights, the Ethical Initiative Basecode and take into account the Soil Association Organic Standards. You can find a copy of our Ethical Sourcing Standards on our website at the following link: http://www.greenandblacks.com/uk/from-bean-to-bar/ethical-sourcing-standards.html

I hope this information has been of use to you in outlining why we have no plans to further extend our Fairtrade range but will continue to trade fairly with our suppliers. I hope this will allow you to make an informed decision when next buying our products. If you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact us again.

Kind Regards

Laura Bowyer

Customer Care Manager

Green & Black's

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