The chocolate industry is beset by child labour and poverty for cocoa farmers especially in West Africa (Côte D’Ivoire and Ghana) where most cocoa comes from. But there are a number of brands that are tackling these issues.
Our recommended ‘Super 7’ brands have a good cocoa sourcing policy, going beyond certifications like Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance. Some of these brands make their chocolate in the country where the cocoa is grown, meaning that country gets a bigger cut of the final price of your bar of chocolate.
Additionally, our recommended ethical chocolate brands are either made by vegan companies or produce vegan varieties.
Vegan chocolate avoids the animal rights, animal welfare and carbon impacts associated with the dairy industry. For example, a litre of dairy milk uses 4 times as much land as a litre of plant milk and results in 3 times as much greenhouse gas emissions.