Together with farmers and businesses, Fairtrade is working for a fairer future in chocolate.
Most cocoa farmers do not earn enough to cover their basic needs. This is in part due to unreliable market prices and an unfair supply chain.
In recent years, the price of cocoa beans has slumped. Disease and age are damaging cocoa trees, while climate change is making crops harder and harder to grow. Young people are increasingly reluctant to choose cocoa farming as a career.
What difference does choosing Fairtrade make?
When you choose Fairtrade chocolate, you know that farmers in places like Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana are getting a fairer price for their cocoa.
Farmers and workers are guaranteed the Fairtrade Minimum Price for their crop. It means they are more likely to be able to cover household costs like education, food and healthcare.
They also receive an additional Fairtrade Premium, which they can choose to invest in their communities and to fight the effects of climate change.
Choosing Fairtrade supports a brighter future for farmers and workers, their families and their communities.
When purchasing Co-op branded chocolate in our food stores, you’re making the choice to buy Fairtrade, because all Co-op cocoa benefits Fairtrade farmers.
We love this Co-op Fairtrade egg hunt box, available in stores for £5 (340g) Offer ends 11.04.2023
Cocoa farmers
Millions of cocoa farmers work extremely hard, under gruelling conditions, yet do not earn a living income.
On average, cocoa farmers earn just 6% of the final value of a bar of chocolate.
When terms of trade don’t work for cocoa farmers it exacerbates poverty and contributes to persistent problems like discrimination, exploitation and deforestation, which threaten the future of cocoa farming communities and the future of cocoa itself.
Fairtrade sets social, economic and environmental standards for both companies and farmers and workers. For companies that includes paying a fair price for the produce, for farmers it includes workers’ rights and protection of the environment.
Cocoa farmers are already experiencing the effects of the climate crisis, through unpredictable weather patterns and new crop-threatening diseases and pests. In addition, due to the poor returns for significant labour, the younger generation are choosing careers outside of farming, which also threatens the future of cocoa.
Only Fairtrade focuses on sustainable pricing, with the safety net of the Fairtrade Minimum Price and the additional Fairtrade Premium, going further than any other certification label.
The Fairtrade standards and the Fairtrade Premium are proven to limit the risks caused by the volatility of the market, with farmers more able to develop their businesses and invest in their communities.
What is Fairtrade doing in the UK?
Fairtrade is working hard to push the chocolate sector to address the challenges that threaten the long term sustainability of cocoa.
Fairtrade is supporting cocoa farming co-operatives in their push for living incomes and better terms of trade for their cocoa farmers.
Since 2019, our Living Income campaign has set out to put living incomes on the public and policy agenda, and to shine a light on the inequalities faced by women cocoa farmers.
What you can do
Together we can all play our part in creating the world we want to see – one in which people are paid fairly for their work and earn a living income.
Fairtrade is a movement for positive change, with thousands of activist supporters and local campaigner groups across the UK.
When you buy Fairtrade chocolate, you know that the farmers were paid a fair price for the cocoa. You are casting a vote with your wallet, signalling to businesses and the Government that fair and just trade matters. You are helping to protect the future of chocolate.
Watch the story of chocolate HERE.