Cadbury Will Be the First Major Confectionery Brand to Offer Fair Trade Chocolate
Toronto, ON – March 4, 2009 – Cadbury is pleased to announce that Cadbury® Dairy Milk® - one of the world’s oldest brands - will receive Fair Trade Certification™. This certification will result in the tripling of sales of cocoa under Fair Trade terms for cocoa farmers in Ghana and will open up new opportunities for farmers to benefit from the Fair Trade system. This groundbreaking announcement is deeply aligned with Cadbury’s values and principles and will make Cadbury the first major Confectionery brand to attain Fair Trade Certification™.
The Fair Trade Certification™ will apply by the end of summer 2009 to the British and Irish markets. The company is continuing to pursue implementation of Fair Trade Certification™ across other markets and brands, including Canada, as part of a managed and phased roll out.
Cadbury Chief Executive, Todd Stitzer, says, “This is an historic moment for our company. I am proud that the nation’s favourite chocolate bar will display the FAIRTRADE Mark. I was in Ghana last month and saw how vital it is that businesses support their partners and the communities they live in. We believe that by joining forces with the Fairtrade Foundation, we can further improve living standards and conditions for farmers and farming communities, and create a sustainable supply of high quality cocoa for Cadbury.”
“Cadbury’s commitment is breakthrough news for the farmers in Ghana who are very excited that they will be able to sell more of their cocoa as Fair Trade, bringing greater benefits to their communities,” says Harriet Lamb, Chief Executive of the Fairtrade Foundation. “We’re delighted to have the opportunity to certify Cadbury® Dairy Milk®, enabling all those who buy it to make a real difference for cocoa farmers with every purchase. This certainly sets a new standard for the mainstream chocolate industry.”
This move coincides with the 100th anniversary of Cadbury’s first full crop from Ghana and the first anniversary of the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership. Through this initiative, Cadbury is investing more than $80 million CDN over the next ten years to secure the sustainable socio-economic future of cocoa farming in Ghana, India, Indonesia and the Caribbean. Throughout its 100-year activity in Ghana, Cadbury’s local initiatives and partnerships have played an integral role in helping Ghana become a premier supplier.
“We’re incredibly proud of this announcement and the significance and impact of Cadbury® Dairy Milk®, one of our oldest and biggest brands, going Fair Trade,” says Luisa Girotto, Vice President Corporate Affairs, Cadbury North America, based in Toronto. “It shows a commitment to source ingredients equitably and sustainably for everyone’s long term success.”
“There is tremendous, growing Canadian consumer support for Fair Trade Certified products. We congratulate Cadbury and the Fairtrade Foundation of the UK on this announcement and look forward to ongoing discussions to bring the Fair Trade Certified Cadbury® Dairy Milk® program to Canada as soon as possible,” says Rob Clarke, Executive Director, TransFair Canada. “As always, products bearing the Fair Trade Certified Mark have been independently audited for compliance with international Fair Trade Certification standards, which include prohibitions on forced and child labour, support for democratic associations of small-scale producers, and environmental criteria.”
This announcement is an example of Cadbury’s ongoing global corporate social responsibility efforts, which have been integral to its business for nearly 200 years and include the promotion of responsible consumption, ethical and sustainable sourcing and commitments to reduce carbon emissions, water use and packaging. For an overview of all Cadbury’s corporate responsibility and sustainability initiatives, visit www.dearcadbury.com.
About Cadbury
Headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey with the Canadian head office in Toronto, Cadbury North America is the Canadian and U.S. combined business unit of Cadbury plc - the world's top confectionery company.
In Canada, Cadbury is the country's largest confectionery company and the brand portfolio includes some of Canada's best-loved chocolate, candy, cough and gum brands such as Dairy Milk*, Caramilk*, Mr. Big*, Dentyne*, Trident*, Stride*, Bubblicious*, Halls*, and Maynards*. In Canada, some Cadbury "firsts" include the first 100 calorie chocolate bar (Cadbury Thins*), the first sugar-free breath freshening gum (Dentyne*) and the first liquid centre pellet gum with dual flavour combinations (Trident Splash*). Our people create brands people love with passion, dedication and drive. For more information visit www.cadbury.com.
About the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership
In January 2008, the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership was established together with the United National Development Programme, local governments, farmers and communities. This ground-breaking partnership aims to secure the economic, social and environmental sustainability of around a million cocoa farmers and their communities in Ghana, India, Indonesia and the Caribbean. Over ten years, more than $80 million CDN will be invested through the partnership, about $55 CDN million of which is allocated to Ghana, to improve farmer incomes, develop communities and build partnerships.
About the Fairtrade Foundation:
The FAIRTRADE Mark is a certification mark and a registered trademark of Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International (FLO) of which the Fairtrade Foundation is the UK member. The Fairtrade Foundation is an independent certification body which licenses the use of the FAIRTRADE Mark on products which meet international Fairtrade standards. This independent consumer label is now recognised by 70% of UK consumers and appears on products as a guarantee that disadvantaged producers are getting a better deal. Today, more than 7.5 million people – farmers, workers and their families – across 59 developing countries benefit from the international Fairtrade system.
Over 4,500 products have been licensed to carry the FAIRTRADE Mark including coffee, tea, herbal teas, chocolate, cocoa, sugar, bananas, grapes, pineapples, mangoes, avocados, apples, pears, plums, grapefruit, lemons, oranges, satsumas, clementines, mandarins, lychees, coconuts, dried fruit, juices, smoothies, biscuits, cakes & snacks, honey, jams & preserves, chutney & sauces, rice, quinoa, herbs & spices, seeds, nuts & nut oil, wines, beers, rum, confectionary, muesli, cereal bars, yoghurt, ice-cream, flowers, sports balls, sugar body scrub and cotton products including clothing, homeware, cloth toys & cotton wool.
In the UK, seven in 10 households purchase Fairtrade goods, including an extra 2.3 million more households in the last year alone. There are over 430 producer organisations selling to the UK and 632 certified producer groups globally, representing more than 1.5 million farmers and workers.
About TransFair Canada:
TransFair Canada is the only certifier of Fair Trade Certified products in Canada. It is a registered not-for-profit organization, and the Canadian representative to the Fairtrade Labeling Organizations (FLO) International.
Together with FLO, TransFair Canada monitors and audits the supply chains of a number of products, including coffee, cocoa, sugar, tea, flowers, and rice, to ensure compliance with internationally-recognized Fair Trade standards from the producer to the point of packaging.
The Fair Trade Certified Mark is the image that appears on products that have been Fair Trade Certified in Canada, and is consumers’ only third-party guarantee that Fair Trade standards have been met. www.transfair.ca
* Trademark of or used under license by Cadbury Adams Canada Inc.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
To view the announcement news release issued by Cadbury UK and the Fairtrade Foundation, please visit: www.cadbury.com
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For more information or to arrange an interview with a Cadbury spokesperson, please contact:
Natasha Lasiuk or Michelle McEwan
Strategic Objectives
Tel: (416) 366-7735 Fax: (416) 366-2295
Email: nlasiuk@strategicobjectives.com
or mmcewan@strategicobjectives.com
Michelle Lefler
Cadbury North America
Tel: (416) 590-5686
Email: michelle.lefler@cs-americas.com