THE SWEET TASTE OF TRACEABLE CHOCOLATE
When buying chocolate, it would be good to know that we are making sustainable choices and that our hard-earned cash will benefit the farmers and their families who grow the cocoa beans that make our favourite treat.
Unfortunately, the chocolate industry has a poor social and environmental reputation. Issues such as farmer poverty, child and forced labor, and deforestation are rampant. Some companies can trace exactly where their cocoa comes from and see the positive and adverse impacts they may be contributing to. However, approximately half the cocoa we consume cannot be traced back to the farmer that grew it. So, how can you be expected to know that your chocolate is free from human and environmental abuses if the brand itself isn’t sure?
It all starts with better transparency and traceability from the people that make our chocolate.
WHY THE MYSTERY?
Before you can eat it, cocoa passes through many go-betweens, from farmers, buyers, cooperatives, processors, manufacturers, and finally, retailers. The cocoa supply chain is a funnelled spider web rather than a straight line. Combined with unregulated farming and distribution practices involving millions of small farmers and cultural barriers, you’ve got one tricky egg to crack.
Good news! More brands and both international and local governments are taking traceability seriously.
The cocoa beans that make their way to Europe and other Western destinations must increasingly be traceable to the farm gate. If these reforms are successful, they will effectively ban the import of products linked to deforestation and human rights abuses. These reforms have encouraged governments in Western Africa to develop national traceability systems, and some of the biggest companies are buying in. We now see increasing demand for traceable cocoa, especially West Africa. Hopefully, traceable cocoa will soon become the norm.
WHAT ARE THE KEY STEPS WE’D LIKE TO SEE COMPANIES TAKING?
1. Continue to Unite and Collaborate
We are seeing more traceability initiatives driven by European and Western legislative changes causing companies to demand traceable chocolate. Rather than everyone inventing their independent traceability systems, farms, manufacturers, brands, NGOs, and governments must continue collaborating to capture the traceability of all cocoa production using the latest advances in big data and new technology.
2. Dig Deeper
Companies continue to learn more about their direct suppliers. However, some companies still choose to buy untraceable cocoa from unregulated intermediaries who often buy chocolate tainted with child labor and grown in deforested areas. We need more local and international regulations enforcing a ban on growing, selling and distributing untraceable chocolate as a minimum standard. If there is no market for untraceable cocoa, it discourages its production.
3. Protect Farmers, Children and the Environment
While traceability is allegedly expensive, non-traceability and opaque supply chains rob farmers of income, children of childhoods, and communities of their environment. Brands must be held accountable and develop a traceable supply chain so that farmers' payments, child and forced labor, and sustainable farming practices are transparent.
I am but one individual chocolate lover, what can I do to help?
It’s not all bitter, we’ve found a number of companies that are leading the way, and more and more are joining the ranks with innovative programs. What makes companies really pause and pay attention is data and their bottom line. The best way to create positive change is to get out and eat some chocolate! We can think of worse ways to be an activist.
Click here to explore the top-ranked brands for transparency and traceability.
Authors:
Professor John Dumay, co-written by Athina Greenhalgh
References:
Stoop, P., N. Ramanan, H. Geens, Lambrecht, A. and Dekeister, S. (2021), Technical Brief on Cocoa Traceability, C-Lever.org, IDH and GISCO. https://www.idhsustainabletrade.com/uploaded/2021/04/Cocoa-Traceability-Study_Highres.pdf
The World Cocoa Foundation Monitoring and Evaluation Guidance Manual. https://www.worldcocoafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/MEL-Guidance-Manual-1.2.pdf