Introducing Tony’s Chocolonely to Babipur!
There is no doubt that here at Babipur HQ we are partial to our chocolate! It is also extremely important to us that the consumable products we support are as ethical and sustainably sourced as our clothing and toys. When we heard about Tony’s Chocolonely we were so inspired, we knew it was something we wanted to be a part of by supporting their mission here at Babipur.
In recent years, there has been a positive shift in Western society for people to be more interested in not only where their food comes from, but how it is produced. Food miles, and concerns over sustainability, are not the only issue, but we are giving deeper thought to the people who are behind making the products. In other words, we are considering the entire supply chain of a product.
Poverty trap
The supply chain for chocolate is not an even or fair process. 60% of the world’s cocoa comes from West Africa: Ghana and the Ivory Coast. At the beginning of the chain is millions of farmers who produce cocoa, and at the other end is all of us folk who enjoy a chocolate fix. Somewhere in the middle, there is a select group of chocolate giants who aren’t so keen on making things fair, and, in fact, actually ensure that the value of cocoa is low so their profits are high.
It is also recognised that farmers productivity is not optimised, as they are not provided with the education and resources they need to develop, therefore their yield is only around 40% of what it should be. Sadly, this poverty in which they are caught leads directly to child labour and modern slavery.
Modern slavery
It is estimated that there could be around 2 million children working in illegal and dangerous conditions to produce cocoa. These children are victims of human trafficking and modern slavery. They become victims of exploitation and exposed to extreme working conditions, often with little or no pay.
Tony’s roadmap to 100% slave free chocolate
Tony’s Chocolonely have made it their mission to make 100% slave free the norm in chocolate. Not just for their own products, but the cocoa farming industry as a whole. We at Babipur think that is pretty awesome. Tony’s mission admits it is in no way an easy ride, but here are the three main points from their ‘Roadmap’ to success:
- Tony’s creates awareness
- Tony’s leads by example
- Tony’s inspires to act
You can read more about Tony’s Roadmap and mission here.
Tony’s Chocolonely at Babipur
We are so excited to be now stocking this amazing chocolate here at Babipur. Their mission is so inspiring and it is important to us that we join their mission to make cocoa farming fair for everyone. We can’t wait to hear what you think!
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[…] choice of Tony’s Chocolonely into a microwave safe bowl and heat on max for 1 minute. Stir the chocolate to melt it completely before drizzling, or in my case – pour the chocolate over the stack of […]