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Chocolate is one of life's pleasures. It is indulgently delicious and chocolate has some amazing health benefits that range from being nutritious, to a great source of antioxidants, and could contribute to heart health. Not to mention that it can boost your mood like nothing else.
Buying ethically sourced fair trade chocolate will also make your favorite treat even sweeter. The production of cocoa has been fraught with issues that range from child exploitation to environmental damage according to Mind Body Green. Buying fair-trade ensures that your chocolate has environmental and social considerations.
Ethical chocolate is grown with the fair treatment of the farmers at its core while also following sustainable earth-friendly practices. Here are seven great choices of ethically sourced and grown chocolate brands that you can trust.
Theo Chocolate
This organic and fair-trade chocolate company was founded in 2005 with the mission of creating a positive impact on the world through chocolate according to its website. Theo partners fairly with cocoa and other ingredient sources to pay the farmers a living wage and helps support thriving communities. It was the first fair trade and organic certified cocoa enterprise in the US.
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Divine
Divine is the only fair trade certified chocolate company that is entirely owned by its cocoa farmers. The company's motto says it all: “owned by cocoa farmers & made for chocolate lovers,” and the company's website said that Divine's founding purpose is to help farmers gain some of the wealth that they are helping to create, and they are also promoting gender equality by helping to empower female farmers. Divine is also a B-Corp certified company.
Alter Eco
Activism through food is what Alter Eco is about and their certifications include organic, fair trade , B-Corp and non-GMO according to the company. The company's chocolatiers and co-op farmer partners practice dynamic agroforestry that supports a diverse system of crops, improves soil health, and reduces pests. These practices increase the productivity of cacao production and is much more environmentally healthy and provides additional income for the farmers.
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Bark Thins
This fair trade certified, US company was founded in 2013 with the idea that a delicious treat could be made with absolutely no compromises. To fulfill this mission, Bark Thins are made of fair-trade dark chocolate and real non-GMO ingredients. The company said on its website: “we're helping to make the world a more delicious place.”
Taza Chocolate
Taza is a real chocolate pioneer and makes stone ground chocolate that from farm to factory is fair to all. According to the company's website, they created the chocolate industry's first certified Direct Trade cacao sourcing program that ensures quality, fair labor practices, and respect for the environment. The 2,233 farmers grow in agroforestry systems and the cacao is USDA certified organic.
Taza is a real chocolate pioneer and makes stone ground chocolate that from farm to factory is fair to all. According to the company's website, they created the chocolate industry's first certified Direct Trade cacao sourcing program that ensures quality, fair labor practices, and respect for the environment. The 2,233 farmers grow in agroforestry systems and the cacao is USDA certified organic.
Camino
This Canadian brand of fair trade and organic food products was established in 1999 and is owned by La Siembra Co-operative. The company was the first importer of fair-trade certified cocoa and sugar in North America. According to the company, they work with “25 producer co-ops and support 47,500 family farmers in 14 countries.” With the mission of envisioning a “world where people collectively build vibrant local and global communities, fostering diverse, and sustainable economies through equitable trade and environmental stewardship,” Camino chocolate is an ethical chocolate brand.
Camino®, renowned for certified fair trade and organic chocolates, is expanding its line of market-leading fair trade organic baking items to include Sugar Free -100% Unsweetened Chocolate Chips https://t.co/k396ksMAlZ#Fairtrade #Organic #AllergenFree #SugarFree #NoSugarAdded pic.twitter.com/SkH2vFScG9
— Camino (@caminolala) September 14, 2018
Beyond Good
Beyond Good makes all of its chocolate in Africa where 70 percent of the world's cacao is grown. The company empowers Ugandan and Madagascan farmers with skills, training, and higher wages and to date have created income for over 100 people from farmers to chocolate makers to the people who package the products. The chocolate is fair trade and is certified organic.
