On a trip to Edinburgh last year, I discovered a chocolate brand I'd never heard of before: Tony's Chocolonely. After trying their delicious Sea Salt Caramel chocolate bar, and reading all the info on the packaging... I fell in love.
Today I'm sharing my love for this brand with you! This post is not sponsored and does not contain any affiliate links. I simply adore the brand.
Why is Tony's Chocolonely such a great company?
Tony's Chocolonely are 100% Slave-Free. Until doing further research, and watching the Netflix series Rotten (thoroughly recommend), I was not aware of quite how serious the problems with the chocolate industry are.
Cocoa farm slavery is rife across West Africa.
Millions of farmers produce cocoa, and billions consume it. 2.5 million farms in Ghana and the Ivory Coast produce over 60% of all cocoa.
The middle of the supply chain, however, is dominated by a few groups of 'chocolate giants'. They make vast profits, by keeping cocoa prices very low and paying their workers poverty wages.
The average cocoa farmer earns 78 euro cents a day. No one can live on this, anywhere in the world.
Illegal child labour is common. So is modern slavery.
Tony's Chocolonely was founded by Teun van de Keuken, a Dutch journalist who launched the crusade against child slavery in the chocolate industry.
Read Their Mission See their Impact!Why should you buy from Tony's Chocolonely?
- Support the journey towards 100% slave-free chocolate becoming the norm.
- Make sure cocoa farmers are paid a fair wage.
- In addition to the Fairtrade premium, they also pay a "Tony's premium", enabling cocoa farmers to earn a decent income. 6,624 farmers currently work with Tony's Chocolonely.
- By supporting the brand, you are helping to empower cocoa farmers and people in cocoa communities.
- Tony's Chocolonely create long-term partnerships with farmer cooperatives, invest in them, and their cocoa beans are entirely traceable.
- Their wrappers are made from 100% recycled Cocoon Offset paper, and emissions are offset.
"As long as the chocolate industry is unequally divided, our bar will stay that way too."
- Their chocolate bars are delicious and available in many different flavours!
- If your local shop doesn't stock Tony's Chocolonely, you can easily order online from their website. A large bar (180g) is £3.98, and a small bar (47-50g is £1.49). They're available to purchase in the US, several European countries, and lots of airports worldwide. If you're outside these regions, I recommend having a look at their website, because Tony's are available in certain areas of other countries too.
The Chocolate and Where To Buy It
Personally, I will not purchase any other chocolate.
I know I can't change the world, but I can change my personal habits, and raise awareness. I do not want to support any chocolate company that exacerbates slavery.
Thank-you for reading this, and I hope you check out Tony's Chocolonely. I'm actually eating their dark milk chocolate pretzel toffee bar while writing this post!
I'm planning to write a whole series about the ethical and eco-friendly swaps I've made, from sanitary products to coffee. If you enjoy reading these posts, make sure to leave a comment.
All the best,
