Press statement: Mars' commitment to sustainable cocoa by 2020
We welcome Mars’ commitment to sourcing from cocoa growers who are committed to more sustainable farm management practices. However it’s also important to recognise that small farmers and workers in developing countries are facing severe hardship in the current economic climate. More than ever, they need the long-term security of fair prices for their crops to continue to farm sustainably, as well as additional investment income for tackling poverty and improving their communities. These are mechanisms unique to Fairtrade certification that would add further crucial value for the growers involved. Therefore we hope that Mars will build on their commitment to farm-level standards on cocoa to incorporate fair trading principles into their future sourcing of cocoa, sugar and other ingredients from developing countries, following the lead of dedicated Fairtrade companies such as Divine Chocolate, and recent groundbreaking leadership shown by major chocolate manufacturer Cadbury.
Note to editors: On 4 March, Cadbury announced their commitment to Fairtrade certification of the cocoa and sugar in the UK’s leading chocolate bar Cadbury Dairy Milk and their cocoa beverages by the end of this summer. For more details of this click here