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An Ethical Chocolate Supply Chain

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Equal Exchange’s Mission

To build long-term partnerships that are economically just & environmentally sound, to foster mutually beneficial relations between farmers & consumers, and to demonstrate, through our success, the viability of worker cooperatives & fair trade.

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Equal Exchange’s Trading Principles

No plantations
No child labor
Work with farmer cooperatives
Long term relationships with farmers
An above market price for produce
Guaranteed pre-harvest financing to farmer coop
Additional fair trade and organic premiums for farmers
Sustainable and organic farming practices
Biodiversity of crops to protect against pests & disease
Practices that conserve water and enhance soil carbon sponge
Building gender awareness and anti-racist practices

All fair trade is not equal. Equal Exchange has been fighting for market access for small-scale farmers from the moment we were founded in 1986. We’re a worker-owned cooperative whose mission is tied to building a just food system where consumers have choices and feel connected to the people in the supply chains. And Equal Exchange works only with other democratically-organized farmer groups. When you buy from one of the corporate big guys you might ask yourself these questions regarding whom you’re supporting. Are 100% of the products they offer fairly traded? Are economic justice for producers and transparency for consumers among the top priorities for the CEO and shareholders? Equal Exchange operates independently with a more democratic business model and we’re not beholden to shareholders when making decisions that guide our company.

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Why do we import these products and how does fair trade fit in?

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Cacao Pod to Chocolate Bar

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Global Cacao Production

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90% of the world’s cacao comes from 5-6 million small-scale farmers

Growth of Cocoa Production in the top 8 producing countries

According to the most recent Cocoa Barometer report: The largest producing country by volume is Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) 3.47 million tons of cocoa accounting for 80% of the world’s bulk supply. A recent study showed that over two-thirds of cocoa farmers in Côte d’Ivoire live below the poverty line. It also found that 34 percent of farmers were extremely poor (less than $1.25 per day) and that fully 39 percent were poor (defined as income between $1.25-$2.50 per day). Source - (World Cocoa Foundation), Cocoa Barometer 2020 https://www.voicenetwork.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/2020-Cocoa-Barometer.pdf

Equal Exchange purchases cacao from the Dominican Republic, Peru, Costa Rica, Panama and Togo. These countries were chosen to give market access to farmers who would not have it otherwise and because they are democratically organized into cooperatives, use organic farming techniques and grow high quality cacao.

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What’s a small-scale farmer?

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How does cacao grow?

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Organic Farming:

Better for people and the planet

Not using harmful chemicals that affect growers, animals or consumers

Maintaining biodiversity: planting diverse tree and plant species, i.e., coffee, citrus, banana, etc. Fewer attacks by diseases and insects. More birds to eat insects.

Protecting land from deforestation and degradation. Rebuild soil carbon sponge

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Once ripe, pods are cut down and sorted on the farm.

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Cooperative Processing

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After:

Before:

Fermentation

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Drying

Drying beds at CONACADO in the Dominican Republic,

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What’s the Difference?

Equal Exchange has been engaged in an effort to change trade through supporting small-scale farmers since our founding in 1986. Fulfilling our mission means that as we grow and source ingredients from over 20 countries around the world, we seek out fairly traded ingredients from small-scale farmers who are members of co-operatives. That commitment is evident in our chocolates and cocoas, where not only the cacao is Fair Trade, but also our sugar and in some products, the vanilla. Our goal is always 100% Fair Trade ingredients in our products, but when that isn’t possible due to the complexities of multi-ingredient products, we still maintain 70% or more Fair Trade content by weight for these products. In our cocoas we are proud to source the milk powder from Organic Valley, a farmer co-op based here in the U.S.

This is not the case for the majority of the chocolate market. The industry is increasingly consolidated, slow to move toward sustainable and socially responsible cacao, willing to sell products with as few certified ingredients in a recipe as possible, and plagued by the problem of unjust child labor. We are proud to support a small-scale farmer and co-op alternative.

In traditional supply chains, many middle men take the majority of the profits. Equal Exchange’s direct trading relationships mean more of the money you pay reaches the hard-working farmers who are taking the majority of the risk.

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Fair Trade Cocoa –

Stable & Better Price

Floor Price = $2,400/metric ton

FT Premium = $240/metric ton

Organic Premium = $300/metric ton

FT Organic Price = $2,940/metric ton

*If the conventional market price goes over $2,400/MT the fair trade price must go at least $300 over the conventional market.

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Fair Trade Premiums go towards community improvement projects

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Ethical Issues & Chocolate

Est. 2.1million child laborers in West Africa alone
Low cacao prices lead to forced labor

Contributing Factors:

Consumer demand for cheap chocolate
Lack of transparency in corporate cocoa sourcing

According to the US Labor department report in 2015 over 2 million children were engaged in dangerous labor in cocoa growing regions. In 2019, the Washington Post came out with an article exposing Hershey’s, Nestle, and Mars for not meeting the standards that they had pledged to meet regarding not using child labor to harvest cocoa over a two decade period of time. When interviewed for the article, none of these companies could guarantee that their chocolates were produced without child labor. The release of the 2015 Tulane Report on the worst forms of child labor in cocoa production demonstrated that despite more than a decade of efforts, child labor is widespread. Although there was a slight relative decline of child labor, an increase in cocoa production had led to an absolute increase of child laborers to 2.1 million children in West Africa alone. Many cocoa farming families in Ivory Coast and Ghana make roughly $2 per day making it difficult for them to pay hired laborers to harvest the crop fueling the need for child labor. The demand for cheap chocolate products, lack of transparency in corporate cocoa sourcing and practices, industry consolidation and geopolitical issues all contribute to the problem.

Fair Trade is different:

Must follow International Labor Organization Conventions (forced labor, minimum age). They have created specific standards and audit tools to conform to these standards
Worst forms of child labor are considered a major non-compliance and a co-op will be immediately suspended

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How can you support small-scale farmers and avoid slave labor?

Ask companies questions about their sourcing and tell them what issues are important to you
Know the best corporate responsibility certifications www.fairworldproject.org
Educate others
Buy chocolate that aligns with your values

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Tasting Chocolate

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Cacao Content Percentages

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Appearance: Does it shine?

Aroma: This hints to what’s inside.

Snap: Is it a clean, crisp snap?

Flavor: Sweet, Sour, Salt, Bitter

Aftertaste: How does it taste after you swallow? Is it pleasant? Does it linger?

Step by step tasting. 1. Appearance: First take a look at your chocolate. Is it glossy and smooth? Is it discolored? Does it have pit marks? A good quality chocolate will have a glossy shine. It will have a consistent color and a smooth surface, both of which are signs of the quality of the chocolate-making process

Aroma: Before eating your chocolate make sure you smell it. The aroma of chocolate often gives hints of what flavors you will experience once you bite into the chocolate. Is it pleasant? Do you smell something sweet or floral; or is it musty or smoky? Chocolate is a complex food that can have many aromas and flavors.

2. Snap: How the bar breaks is often an indicator of the quality of a bar. A well-made, high cacao content bar should produce a loud, clean snap when broken in two.

3. Flavor: Now it's time to eat! Take a bite of the chocolate, chew it several times and move the pieces around your tongue and mouth. Let the pieces sit and slowly melt on your tongue. What flavors appear? Can you taste any of the four basic tastes (sweet, sour, salt and bitter)? Do you taste any aromatics - the flavors beyond the four basic tastes - such as fruits or nuts? Is it earthy, or do you get a roast flavor? A good chocolate will have different flavors that appear throughout the bite. It is important that the flavors are both pleasing and well balanced so that one flavor doesn't overpower the others.

4. Aftertaste: What flavors are left on your tongue a minute after you finish your bite? A good quality chocolate will leave a delicious taste on your tongue and make you want to come back for more.

Here you can do an interactive activity–ask participants to share the flavors, aromas and tastes they experienced. Tasting is subjective and can be a lot of fun since there are no wrong answers.