Do Fairtrade mislead consumers?

Current rules allow confectionery and chocolate carrying the Fairtrade mark to contain cocoa that has not been ethically sourced.

Fairtrade has set up a system to ensure that chocolate manufacturers that want to use the Fairtrade Mark must buy the precise amount of cocoa they need from Fairtrade farmers that will be used in their final product.

So, if a chocolate bar uses 500 tonnes of cocoa, then they must purchase 500 tonnes of cocoa on Fairtrade terms, including the payment of an additional $200 Fairtrade Premium per tonne. This means that even if the beans are later mixed with non-Fairtrade beans – as often happens – Fairtrade cocoa farmers still get 100% of the benefits, and the better deal that the Fairtrade Mark stands for.

This is potentially misleading to consumers who are willing to spend more on a chocolate bar, under the belief that it is ethically sourced. Yet it can be said that every chocolate bar they buy helps deliver a better deal to farmers and workers in the cocoa industry.

I think more effort needs to be put into keeping Fairtrade cocoa and non-Fairtrade cocoa separate at every stage of production from the cocoa field to the final bar. However this will not be easy. Many factories simply do not have the capacity and facilities to separate beans and consequently huge investments in machinery would be required.