The article in the url below reports a decision by Cadbury (the UK chocolate company) to drop its commitment to the Fairtrade certification of its cocoa sourcing and, instead, replace it with its own scheme – “Cocoa Life”:
“The British confectionery maker, which is owned by US food giant Mondelez, was applauded in 2009 when it announced its Dairy Milk brand would be made from Fairtrade cocoa — guaranteeing farmers in its supply chain decent working conditions and a minimum cocoa price.”
The company is being criticized for the decision in some quarters because it weakens support for Fairtrade, in spite of its growth in recent years:
“Fairtrade now has more than 4,500 products to its name, including bananas, coffee and sugar.”
In contrast, Cadbury says farmers will not lose out from the change and, in fact, the company’s new program indicates a higher commitment to a more sustainable supply chain:
“Instead, the new scheme will involve the entire Cadbury range. Products including Flake, Twirl and Wispa bars will all sport a Cocoa Life logo on the front of their packets, the company said, and the farming supply chain will receive $400m in investment by 2022. ‘This is about making sure we make a greater impact to more farmers in more communities,’ said Glenn Caton, president of Northern Europe at Mondelez, adding that the decision was driven by a desire to take ‘ownership of the challenge of sustainability.’”
“Instead, the new scheme will involve the entire Cadbury range. Products including Flake, Twirl and Wispa bars will all sport a Cocoa Life logo on the front of their packets, the company said, and the farming supply chain will receive $400m in investment by 2022. ‘This is about making sure we make a greater impact to more farmers in more communities,’ said Glenn Caton, president of Northern Europe at Mondelez, adding that the decision was driven by a desire to take ‘ownership of the challenge of sustainability.’”
From the outside, it is good to see Cadbury taking ownership of its supply chain and imposing its own operational-specific standards, similar to Starbuck’s CAFÉ standards. From the consumer’s point of view, however, it is difficult to see how yet another ethical/environmental ‘standard’ is going to aid transparency and enable better consumption decisions (see Strategic CSR – Green Noise). As noted by the head of the Food Foundation, a UK think-tank:
“… there is a risk that if every company has their own mark it will be extremely difficult for consumers to determine which mark represents the best, independently verified standard.”
Already:
“Nestlé and Barry Callebaut each have their own company schemes, Cocoa Plan and Cocoa Horizons.”
Take care
David
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Cadbury move fuels concern for Fairtrade’s future
By Hannah Murphy
November 29, 2016
Financial Times
Late Edition – Final
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