Does Kraft's Takeover Mean the End of Cadbury's Fair Trade Policies?

by Nathaniel Whittemore · 2010-01-20 10:46:00 UTC
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Last year, famed British chocolatier Cadbury made waves when it announced that 100% of the cocoa used in its popular Dairy Milk line would be sourced Fair Trade. With the news that Cadbury is being sold to American conglomerate Kraft, the question is: will the new owners will keep these policies intact?

Cadbury's announcement was a very big deal. So big, in fact, that I called it one of the top ten moments of the decade in social entrepreneurship. To me, it demonstrated a significant shift in the way that companies were viewing the market for "good" products.

But I also explained it as something of a bookend to another moment in corporate history that saw a company -- Ben and Jerry's -- have their legacy of corporate responsibility smashed by a sale to another conglomerate, in their case, Unilever. The dismantling of responsibility programs left a big question for those in social enterprise: how to sell without selling out?

Since September, megacorporation Kraft has been circling Cadbury trying to buy it. The deal was delayed in part because of a loud public campaign to try to keep Cadbury independent, and even the involvement of British Parliament members who warned Kraft against trying to make a "quick buck."

The opposition has focused not only on Fair Trade, but also a general fear of losing Cadbury's progressive employment practices to a company saddled with debt and a history of aggressive cost-cutting through layoffs.

While the deal is done, Kraft hasn't yet made any specific moves with regard to Cadbury's legacy of Fair Trade. Now is the time to let Kraft know, loudly and clearly, that you expect them to continue what Cadbury has started, and that if they don't, the consequence is that you won't buy their products.

Amanda from the Human Trafficking blog has set up a petition telling Kraft to keep Cadbury's CSR policies in tact, and written a post about why it's so important.

Please share on Facebook and retweet this important campaign.

Photo Credit: Svadilfari

Nathaniel Whittemore is the founder of Assetmap. Previously he was the founding director of the Northwestern University Center for Global Engagement.
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