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Kit Kat two finger goes Fairtrade!

26 October 2012

The Mahounou village community in Ivory Coast invested the Fairtrade Premium in opening a school.

The Fairtrade Foundation is pleased to confirm that Nestlé UK & Ireland will be extending Fairtrade certification of Kit Kat from January 2013 when the family favourite 2-finger bars will start to carry the FAIRTRADE Mark, in a move that will double the company’s purchases of Fairtrade certified cocoa, and its impact for producers.

The move means that seven additional farmer co-operatives in the Ivory Coast are now Fairtrade certified and that their combined membership of 4,500 farmers will not only receive a price that covers the costs of sustainable production but also receive an additional Fairtrade premium to invest in their community or business development projects of their own choice, such as improving healthcare and schools.

Mike Gidney, Interim Executive Director of the Fairtrade Foundation, said: ‘This is sweet news not only for the farmers and communities but also for modern-day consumers who want companies to do the right thing by their suppliers[1]. We know how much Kit Kat 4-Finger going Fairtrade has been able to transform communities in the Ivory Coast; extending this commitment to Kit Kat 2-Finger is great news for cocoa farmers and their families in the Ivory Coast.’

Kouame Fasseri, of Kavokiva farmers’ cocoa co-operative in the Ivory Coast, says Fairtrade has helped fund a variety of community development projects including a new school building in his own village, as well as supporting the ongoing running of a community health centre that now saves lives. ‘Before Fairtrade,’ explains Kouame. ‘Many people were dying of ailments, particularly hernias. Because they did not have enough money to pay for healthcare, farmers were pretending they were not ill and so leaving it too late for treatment. The co-operative launched an investigation to discover the cause of these deaths and recommended we use the Fairtrade premium to build the health clinic. In the last two years, about 200 people have had operations, so we think many lives have been saved by the new clinic.’

By extending Fairtrade certification across the most popular biscuit in the Kit Kat range, an extra 800 million bars a year will now carry the FAIRTRADE Mark.

Kit Kat was the first mainstream brand chocolate biscuit to go Fairtrade in January 2010 when the 4-finger Kit Kat was Fairtrade certified.

-Ends-

[1] Some 79% worldwide, and 83% of UK consumers, say that they look to companies they deal with to help in reducing poverty through the way they do business.

Here are a selection of photos to show the types of projects that the community have invested their Fairtrade premium in, including the recent opening of a school, comprising of 3 classrooms in Mahounou village. Some of you may recognise Mr Fasseri who visited the UK earlier this year and answered your questions.