Cadbury chocolate bars are about to look very different
The world’s second largest chocolate manufacturer Cadbury is pulling out of the Fairtrade scheme after seven years, in favour of its own sustainability program.
By the end of the year, the blue and green Fairtrade logo – which is awarded to product that meet strict criteria – will no longer appear on Cadbury packs worldwide. On some chocolate blocks, it’s already been removed.
Fairtrade will be replaced by a sustainability program called “Cocoa Life”, which is actually owned by Cadbury’s parent company Mondelez.
Cadbury says its own program is similar to the Fairtrade initiative and that Fairtrade Foundation will continue as a partner.
But news.com.au report that Fairtrade Australia and New Zealand boss Molly Harriss Olson said she would have preferred it if Cadbury had stuck with the Fairtrade brand.
Fairtrade help around 1.65 million farmers in 75 developing countries by ensuring they receive a fair price for their products.
“Cadbury Dairy Milk will not be Fairtrade certified in the traditional sense. It will be a new partnership, a different sort of partnership,” Olson said.
She said Fairtrade would continue to monitor elements of Cadbury’s new program.
But she also warned big companies turning to their own sustainability labels that consumers would see through “fair-washing” and companies’ “grading their own homework”.
Cadbury’s decision comes at a time where other big food companies, including Nestle and Ferrero, are expanding their Fairtrade mark across more products.