Sustainability

Tony’s Chocoloney tours UK to spread the news about ‘slave-free’ cocoa

11-Aug-2021 - Last updated on 11-Aug-2021 at 09:48 GMT

Coming to a UK city near you. Pic: Tony's Chocolonely

Ethical Dutch chocolate brand that officially launched in the UK in 2108 is launching Choose Agents - a tour across four major UK cities - to spread awareness about inequalities in the cocoa industry.

The Choose Agents tour will take in Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Manchester for the first time, with Dublin hopefully added to the roster once COVID-19 restrictions allow.

Taking the form of a newsagent with a Tony’s twist, visitors will be able to sample Tony’s chocolate bars but also learn about inequality in the cocoa industry. Using fun interaction and education, and Tony’s chocolate (of course), the Choose Agents experience will highlight Tony’s Five Sourcing Principles for ensuring slave-free cocoa - 100% traceable cocoa beans, paying a higher price, strengthening farmer cooperatives, engaging in long-term direct trading partnerships, and focusing on cocoa quality and productivity to optimise cocoa yields.

The company claims that despite repeated industry promises to end this exploitation, there are currently 1.56 million children working illegally and at least 30,000 instances of modern slavery on cocoa farms in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, where 60% of the world’s cocoa comes from.

Tony’s says it wants to change that, and the Choose Agents tour will show that every chocolate fan has the power to change the industry for the better through their purchasing choices. With the UN designating 2021 as the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour, the message is clear: ‘the time to act is now. But only together can we make 100% slave free the norm in chocolate’.

Tony’s UKI Head of Marketing, Nicola Matthews, said: “Tony’s has dedicated its efforts to raising awareness of and eliminating inequality in the chocolate industry since 2005. We have shown the world that chocolate can be made differently but as much as we try to face it head on with our 5 Sourcing Principles, we really can’t do this alone. That’s why we’re launching Choose Agents to show people across the UK that something as simple as choosing a chocolate bar really can make a difference. The power to change the industry is in consumers’ hands.”

Choose Agents Tour Dates:

• Manchester, Spinningfields - August 21 & 22

• Cardiff, St David’s Place - August 28 & 29

• Edinburgh, Castle Street - September 4 & 5

• Bristol, Cabot Circus Podium – September 18 & 19