Ben & Jerry’s announced its commitment to go fully Fair Trade across its entire global flavor portfolio. From Cherry Garcia to Chocolate Fudge Brownie, all of the flavors in all of the countries where Ben & Jerry’s is sold will be converted to Fair Trade Certified ingredients by the end of 2013.
Ben & Jerry’s was the first ice cream company in the world to use Fair Trade Certified ingredients starting in 2005, and today it’s racing ahead as the first ice cream company to make such a significant commitment to Fair Trade across its global portfolio.
“Fair Trade is about making sure people get their fair share of the pie,” says cofounder Jerry Greenfield. “The whole concept of Fair Trade goes to the heart of our values and sense of right and wrong. Nobody wants to buy something that was made by exploiting somebody else.”
Ben & Jerry’s Fair Trade commitment means that every ingredient that can be sourced Fair Trade Certified, now or in the future, is Fair Trade Certified. Globally, this involves converting up to 121 different chunks and swirls, working across 11 different ingredients such as cocoa, banana, vanilla and other flavorings, fruits, and nuts. It also means working with Fair Trade cooperatives that total a combined membership of over 27,000 farmers.
“Congratulations to Ben & Jerry’s on the scale and the depth of this commitment to take their whole range Fair Trade,” says Rob Cameron, CEO of Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO). “Tackling poverty and sustainable agriculture through trade may not be easy but it is always worth it, and Ben & Jerry’s has demonstrated real leadership in laying out this long-term ambition to engage with smallholders, who grow nuts, bananas, vanilla, cocoa, and other Fair Trade–certified ingredients. Ben & Jerry’s, like all of us in the Fair Trade movement, believe that people can have fun standing up to injustice and campaigning against poverty while enjoying some of Ben & Jerry’s best-selling favorites like Phish Food and Chocolate Fudge Brownie.”
Farmers selling Fair Trade products earn a better income, which allows them to stay on their land. Fair Trade premiums also allow for reinvestment in their farms, their families, their communities and their future. Fair Trade means that certified farmers are using environmentally sound practices to grow and harvest their crops in a sustainable way.
