Ben & Jerry's joined Tony's Chocolonely's mission to end modern slavery and child labor in the chocolate industry.
To celebrate their commitment, the ice cream and chocolate makers got busy making sweet treats inspired by each other. Coming in January 2023, Chocolatey Love A-Fair, a new flavor from Ben & Jerry's based on Tony's popular milk caramel sea salt bar; and Tony's Chocolate Love A-Fair, two new Tony's bars inspired by Ben & Jerry's Strawberry Cheesecake and Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream flavors.
The cocoa beans from these brand-new chocolatey treats are sourced through Tony's Open Chain which helps companies take steps to end modern slavery and child labor in the chocolate industry. Ben & Jerry's will also begin converting its ice cream portfolio to Tony's Open Chain, prioritizing the cocoa in the ice cream base mix. Ben & Jerry's already pays farmers a Fairtrade Premium for their cocoa beans through an ongoing partnership with Fairtrade, and boosts this further by paying a Living Income Reference Price. As part of Tony's Open Chain, Ben & Jerry's will now also commit to Tony's 5 Sourcing Principles which means, among other things, also paying a fee to further support the partner co-operatives in Côte d'Ivoire.
By adopting Tony's 5 Sourcing Principles, companies take responsibility for ensuring a fully traceable cocoa supply chain and paying a higher price to address poverty, the root cause of social injustice for cocoa farmers. As a Mission Ally of Tony's Open Chain and by beginning their conversion to buying cocoa directly from eight partner co-operatives in Côte d'Ivoire, Ben & Jerry's will not only get to know which farmers produce the beans that go into their chocolatey ice cream, but also under which social and environmental circumstances they are grown. Full traceability and transparency of the cocoa supply chain is crucial to achieve social justice for cocoa farmers – and to enable dignified livelihoods.
