Most Major Brands Surpass Hershey in Responsible Cocoa Sourcing

New commitments to sustainable cocoa from some of the largest cocoa and chocolate companies in the world have left Hershey even farther behind its competitors in responsible sourcing practices. In the past month, Barry Callebaut and Unilever have made significant agreements to produce chocolate products certified to meet international labor standards, greatly increasing the global production and demand of sustainable cocoa. As an industry that has long been tainted by child labor, forced labor and trafficking, it is critical that chocolate companies take responsibility for the conditions under which their cocoa is produced. Why is Hershey so far behind.

Barry Callebaut might not be a household name, but as the world's largest producer of cocoa and chocolate products, it's highly likely that some of your favorite chocolates are made using cocoa supplied by Callebaut. In early November, Callebaut announced that by January 2011, it would make Fair Trade Certified formulations of its four most popular cocoa recipes. These products are mainly available to confectioners, pastry chefs and chocolatiers who will be able to use the Fair Trade varieties to make delicious treats that also support cocoa growing communities. Juergen Steinemann, the CEO of Barry Callebaut, made a clear argument that committing to Fair Trade cocoa is a must for leaders in the chocolate industry:

As the global leader in cocoa and chocolate, a focus on sustainability is an imperative for our company, not an option. For a long time now we are actively engaged in origin countries by working together with farmers and cooperatives directly and at the same time we have been involved in various initiatives and projects, all contributing to a more sustainable cocoa supply chain. Our association with Fair Trade, for example, goes back many years and we are proud to be a Fair Trade preferred supplier of certified chocolate.

Days later, Unilever, a company with over 400 brands from home and personal care to food products, launched a new Sustainable Living Plan that includes sustainable cocoa. As part of the broad plan, Unilever will use Rainforest Alliance certified cocoa for its Magnum ice cream by 2015 and all other cocoa products will be sustainably sourced by 2020. As Unilever notes that the company chose to have its cocoa certified by an independent third party in order to give "assurance of the conditions under which the cocoa that we use was produced and enabl[e] us to trace it back to the region and farmer groups working there." The supply chain transparency that third party certification provides "helps connect producers to consumers."

Among the many brands owned by Unilever is Ben and Jerry's which has long been a leader in sustainable sourcing. Early this year, Ben and Jerry's announced that it would source every product that it uses that can be Fair Trade Certified now or in the future in every one of its flavors in all of its markets by the end of 2013. The relationship with Ben and Jerry's has proved to be a learning opportunity for Unilever in terms of sustainable production and sourcing. Now, Unilever is joining the many major corporations that agree that "a more sustainable brand is often a more desirable brand."

New research backs up that view as well. A report released last month by the UN found that markets for sustainable products have grown rapidly over the past five years and are growing faster than conventional products. At the same time, it is important to ensure that products claiming to respond to the demand for worker-friendly and sustainable production are living up to consumers' expectations and that conditions are verified by independent monitors with integrity. The ratings of certification systems created by Free2Work.org are a good place to start in understanding how different third party certifications address labor rights issues. Another recent report by a Belgian consumer interest organization also analyzes many of the major certification systems operating in the cocoa industry and found that Fair Trade stands out for its focus directly on farmers and for providing economic support to farmers to successfully implement sustainable production.

Unilever and Barry Callebaut are joining chocolate industry giants such as Nestle, Mars and Kraft (who now own Cadbury as well) in increasing their purchases of cocoa certified to meet labor rights criteria. However, one iconic brand continues to lag behind and has no system in place to trace its cocoa and institute labor rights standards among its suppliers: The Hershey Company. You can send an e-mail to Hershey here.

Photo credit: EverJean