Ben & Jerry's to make items fair trade

[pampango]

http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20100222/BUSINESS/2220301

Ben & Jerry's is stepping up its commitment to ethical business, announcing recently that all its 58 flavors of ice cream — sold in 39 countries around the world — will be sourced from fair trade certified products by the end of 2013. The pledge extends an existing commitment by Vermont-based Ben & Jerry's to convert all its European products to fair trade standards by the end of 2011. Company co-founder Ben Cohen said that changing business practices in the first world to ensure suppliers in the developing world are not exploited "is really the only moral way to do business."

Ben & Jerry's is already working with 10 different Fairtrade Co-ops with up to 27,000 members across six different commodities. That includes cocoa producers from the Dominican Republic and Ivory Coast, vanilla producers from India and Uganda, sugarcane producers from Belize, banana producers from Ecuador and almond producers from Pakistan. The company's commitment to 100 percent Fairtrade by the end of 2013 means that it will seek similar deals with pineapple, passion fruit, mango, macadamia nut and peppermint suppliers.

Making the pledge more difficult is the fact that Fairtrade remains a new area for many businesses. The company's demand for newly certified ingredients such as almonds and walnuts outstrips the current world supply, meaning it so far has only been able to purchase a third of almonds it needs from a producer in Pakistan. It said it continued to work with the producer, Mountain Fruits, to increase their harvest and membership, while also working with Fairtrade Labeling Organizations International to certify new cooperatives.

Cohen said that the U.S. has been slower than other regions to adopt fair trade principles, as the domestic sugar lobby has placed very high tariffs on imports. "Europe is leading the way," said Cohen. "The U.S. lags behind, but the trend is beautiful. Even in the United States it's growing at least 20 percent a year."

[tavalon]

1. Ben and Jerry's has always been an ethical company

Kudos to them for becoming more ethical.

[cali]

2. B&J is owned by Unilever

glad that they at least listen to B&J when it comes to their former company.

[tavalon]

3. I didn't realize they had sold the company