Chocolate
I read an article about chocolate in The Economist the other day. One company, Divine Chocolate, actually has shares owned by cocoa growers in Ghana, and has helped them succeed economically. Divine sounds like an effective model for companies who want to help make trade more fair for farmers in places like Africa.
And, having tried out some of their chocolate, I think they've been quite successful there, too!
And, having tried out some of their chocolate, I think they've been quite successful there, too!
posted by Amanda at
11:50 AM
2 Comments:
So the chocolate is good? Yum. Fair trade is tricky when the products aren't as good (which is often the case, at least over here). Is it really "fair" if we pay the same price for lower-quality goods? But I'm very happy when African farmers who are turning out good stuff get paid what their product is worth. Hopefully other companies will follow the lead.
By
Melodee, at 2:12 PM
Yeah, I'm starting to realize that "fair trade" can't be just a handout. But this article about Divine Chocolate stressed that they're really involved and help the cocoa growers make good business decisions.
Another thing that makes this tricky - a different source said that many chocolate farms use slave labor, or the equivalent. Chocolate and rugs are the two main thing modern slaves are used in the manufacturing of. :( A boycott (which would be possible, anyway!) won't help, but encouraging Hersheys, Nestle, etc. to use good practices in their chocolate purchasing will help.
I can tell you, Divine is tons better-tasting than Cadbury! ;)
By
Amanda, at 5:03 PM
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