The Swiss Platform for Sustainable Cocoa (SWISSCO) has reported good progress in promoting sustainability in the Swiss cocoa value chain as it deepens its engagement in projects and international cooperation.
During a special session held earlier this month, the International Cocoa Council (ICC) said it has extended the duration of the seventh International Cocoa Agreement by two years to 30 September 2024.
Specially commissioned film designed to reveal to consumers how choosing Fairtrade chocolate can change the lives and futures of cocoa farmers and their communities.
New study released in time for World Chocolate Day shows farmers in the most impoverished circumstances benefit from growing cocoa rather than their non-certified counterparts.
A powerful cocoa coalition partnership has called on the European Commission to pursue the establishment of bilateral agreements between the European Union and cocoa-producing countries to contribute to establishing a fully sustainable cocoa supply chain.
Neighbouring West African states account for over 60% of global cocoa supplies, but have threatened to name and shame chocolate brands trying to avoid paying the LID, a $400-per-tonne premium, which goes to their farmers.
Dutch disruptor brand Tony’s Chocolonely - that is on 'a mission to make 100% slave free chocolate the norm' - has urged EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders to introduce a law requiring human rights due diligence in companies’ supply chains.
The German Confectionery Industry (BDSI) has said it welcomes the German Bundestag national supply chain due diligence law and that it has been made clear that there are no additional liability risks for companies beyond the existing ones.
A coalition of global civil societies has renewed its calls for the elimination of child labour in the cocoa industry - in both consuming and producing nations.
In Germany, companies will be required to identify and account for human rights violations in global supply chains. While largely perceived to be a step in the right direction, some argue the new law falls short.
The International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) has launched a new strategy to take it up to 2026 with the aim of scaling up action across the entire cocoa supply chain in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana, and building on lessons learned and progress made over the past...
Initially launched in Europe at the beginning of the year, Tony's Chocolonely’s Sweet Solution bars - which were originally ‘look-a-like’ limited-edition versions of notable chocolate bars made with Tony’s 5 Sourcing Principles for fairer chocolate...
The new ‘Cadbury Farmer Resilience Fund’ designed to protect cocoa farmer livelihoods during the COVID-19 pandemic is providing grants that will empower thousands of women farmers to start small businesses and earn a decent living.
Nestlé has announced it has joined other business leaders across the food industry to support ambitious action by the European Union (EU) to increase supply chain transparency and traceability for commodities that may be linked to deforestation.
Gowland previously served as Executive Vice President for Latin America and Global Innovation at The Nature Conservancy. Before that, he spearheaded sustainability initiatives in the private sector, including stints at Unilever and Nike.
The European Union has held its second Cocoa Roundtable Dialogue with Ghanaian stakeholders to discuss the environmental sustainability of cocoa production, while Cote d’Ivoire says quick compliance with broad legislation may pose challenges.
Ethan Budiansky, the World Cocoa Foundation’s Director of Environment, shares some of the findings from the CFI’s latest reports and explains why ‘getting more trees in the ground’ is important.
The use of Child Labour Monitoring and Remediation Systems (CLMRS) to tackle child labour is expanding in the cocoa sector, and a new study by the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) provides a common operational definition of a CLMRS and sets out key...
Consumer demand for CBD products has soared during lockdown, according to the Association for the Cannabinoid Industry (ACI), which estimates the sector will generate £690 million in annual sales this year, above a previous forecast of £526 million.
Barry Parkin, the company's Chief Procurement and Sustainability Officer, is set to meet with members of the cocoa industry and the governments of Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire this week to discuss the Living Income Differential (LID) and to underscore...
Barry Callebaut says it is committed to ending deforestation in the cocoa and chocolate industry as part of its actions in the months and years ahead, which are highlighted in its the Cocoa & Forests Initiative (CFI) Progress Report 2020.
The International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) and its members are pledging to scale up efforts in the fight against child labour, covering 540,000 cocoa-growing households in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana by the end of this year.
Pork DNA has been found in two confectionery products in Bangladesh, according to a study analysing 42 imported confectionery samples purchased from the Dhaka region.
The Critical Infrastructure Supply Chain Council (CISCC) says the supply chain challenges thrown up by the coronavirus pandemic – rather than seen as a negative – show the way to build up resilience for future crisis response.
The influential Cocoa Barometer, a biennial review of sustainability in the cocoa sector, is now available in French, Spanish and Dutch - in addition to the original language English version – to represent the major languages where cocoa is grown, traded...
Olam Food Ingredients (OFI) claimed its cocoa division has achieved 100% child labour and deforestation monitoring in its direct global supply chain, covering almost 183,000 households and 12,000 suppliers, respectively.
Fairtrade urges EU to implement regulation to recognise the right to living income in cocoa sector in any forthcoming human rights due diligence regulation, as European Cocoa Association calls for an ‘enabling environment’ across the industry.
The world's largest food and beverage companies and their suppliers must do more to create an equitable and sustainable food system for all, says Oxfam.
Company also announces strategic partnership with Save the Children through a €8m project to further scale and strengthen activities to protect children.
The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF), representing some of the world’s largest food makers and retailers, has launched a new framework for the implementation of human rights due diligence systems. This aligned approach is a ‘major victory’ in the fight against...
Organisers have announced that the fifth World Cocoa Conference which was scheduled to take place this year from 23 to 26 May, has been moved to 2022, because of the ongoing global health emergency following the COVID-19 outbreak.
The annual Easter Scorecard, published by Be Slavery Free, Green America, Inkota, Mighty Earth, and National Wildlife Federation, which surveys chocolate companies and cocoa suppliers, reveals many of the chocolate manufacturers and retailers are still...
Julianne Ponan, founder of allergen free Creative Nature Superfoods, advises others in the SME sector to remain open to adapting following the UK’s departure from the EU.
William Reed Business Media, publisher of The Grocer, ConfectioneryNews and BakeryandSnacks, has confirmed that its Food & Drink Shows will go ahead this July at Birmingham’s NEC following the UK government’s ‘Roadmap out of Lockdown’ announcement.
Memorandum of Understanding signed by Dutch Initiative on Sustainable Cocoa, Belgium’s Beyond Chocolate, the German Initiative on Sustainable Cocoa and the Swiss Platform for Sustainable Cocoa agreeing to closer collaboration, Chocoa21 delegates told.
Many consumers are aware of the nutritional value so-called superfoods have, but few can commit to a daily diet packed with turmeric, ashwagandha, and elderberry (and even fewer enjoy the taste). This hangup was the impetus for Grummies, a brand of gummies...
Mondelēz-owned Intercontinental Great Brands has filed a trademark infringement case in the Delhi High Court against Parle Products over allegedly copying Mondelez’s iconic Oreo cookie.
Following reports of serious issues in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana’s cocoa supply chains, the EU and the US Labor Department have both announced financial aid to help the two countries.
Responsible design of supply and value chains and sustainability are important issues for the German confectionery industry, as it calls again for EU-wide legislation.
UPL, a global leader in sustainable agriculture products and solutions, announced it has joined the European Cocoa Association (ECA) as an associate member. We talk to Florent Clair, UPL’s Sustainability Co-Ordinator, about the company's long history...
Dutch ethical brand Tony’s Chocolonely has defended its reputation for making ‘100% slave free chocolate the norm’ after it was struck off a list of companies that use ethically sourced cocoa by the American organization Slave Free Chocolate.
Multi-national cocoa companies Nestlé, Cargill, Barry Callebaut USA LLC, Mars, Olam, Hershey and Mondelēz have been named as defendants in a federal class action lawsuit in the United States on behalf of eight Malian boys who have alleged they were used...
Mars Wrigley, part of Mars, Incorporated, has published its cocoa human rights report with renewed efforts to address root causes of child and forced labour in the cocoa sector.
Nestlé has revealed it will change its farming practices with suppliers in the way its food is produced and will transition to regenerative agriculture to benefit nature and improve farmer incomes in order to reach its 2050 net-zero climate goal.
