Cadbury Dairy Milk to go Fairtrade

Success tastes sweet for thousands of cocoa farmers as the UK’s top-selling chocolate bar will go Fairtrade

This Fairtrade Fortnight, Cadbury and the Fairtrade Foundation have announced plans to achieve Fairtrade certification for Cadbury Dairy Milk by end of Summer 2009.

This groundbreaking move will result in the tripling of sales of cocoa under Fairtrade terms for cocoa farmers in Ghana.

CAFOD supporters have played a vital role in the growth of Fairtrade and helping such a good idea to become mainstream.

Rashmi Mistry, CAFOD

Rashmi Mistry, CAFOD head of campaigns, says: "Today's announcement is not only good news for farmers in developing countries, it's also good news for chocolate lovers everywhere.

"Our supporters have bought, promoted, campaigned for and enjoyed Fairtrade chocolate over many years. They have played a vital role in the growth of Fairtrade and helping such a good idea to become mainstream.

“We warmly welcome the fact that Britain's most popular chocolate bar is going Fairtrade and that many thousands more farmers will now be able to benefit from the security and improved living standards that Fairtrade brings."

Feeling the benefits

The company has committed to the Fairtrade certification of Cadbury Dairy Milk for the whole of the British and Irish markets.

To make sure internationally agreed Fairtrade standards are kept to, the Fairtrade Foundation and its international partner certification body, FLO-Cert, will be independently monitoring and auditing the Dairy Milk supply chain.

Kuapa Kokoo, one of the first groups to be Fairtrade certified, with over 40,000 cocoa farmers across Ghana, will now have the opportunity to sell cocoa to Cadbury on Fairtrade terms.

This will increase the group’s Fairtrade premiums - money paid on top of the Fairtrade minimum price that is invested in development projects, decided by farmers themselves.

Although Kuapa Kokoo are not selling a big percentage of their cocoa as Fairtrade, these premiums have already made a significant difference. They have helped build primary school classrooms, construct wells and invest in corn mills.

Cocoa farmer Mary Nyamekye explains the benefits that Fairtrade has brought her : “Before I was a member of Kuapa Kokoo I was facing many problems – I had no money to feed my family or educate my children,” she says.

"I have been relieved of my problems…I was formerly a member of another cocoa buying company, but I never had a voice. Now I can speak my views and people listen, I have been made treasurer of my society.”

First step

CAFOD is a founding member of the Fairtrade Foundation, which sees this as just a first step in a long partnership to improve livelihoods for cocoa growers.

The acceptance of Fairtrade into the mainstream comes as a result of the hard work and forward-thinking actions of many Fairtrade companies.

In particular, Divine Chocolate which has played a major role in developing Fairtrade chocolate and working with farmers on the ground. Divine also operates a unique model in which the cocoa farmers are also the major shareholders in the company.

Based on these strong foundations, Fairtrade Foundation Chief Executive Harriet Lamb shares her vision for the future: “The Fairtrade Foundation set out an ambitious strategy last year to double its positive impact for producers by 2012, by opening up opportunities for more and more farmers to join the system, and for those already in the system to be able to sell more under Fairtrade conditions.

"It is precisely this kind of big commitment by a major player such as Cadbury that could make it possible to achieve these goals.”