TransFair USA | Cocoa Program

Cocoa Program

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Dignity for cocoa farmers
Even though Americans spend $13 billion a year on cocoa products, many small-scale family cocoa farmers face tremendous instability. They are often forced to sell their harvest to local middlemen who use rigged scales or misrepresent world prices. Recent media reports of child slavery on West African cocoa estates show the stark contrast between the delicious treat we enjoy and the often difficult working conditions of the people who produce it.

Fair Trade certification ensures that cocoa farmers receive a fair price for their harvest, creates direct trade links between farmer-owned cooperatives and buyers, and provides access to affordable credit. On Fair Trade farms, slave labor is strictly prohibited and farms are inspected to ensure that Fair Trade standards are being met.

Ensuring a quality supply
By guaranteeing farmers a fair and sustainable price, Fair Trade allows cocoa farmers to invest in post-harvest techniques that bring out the individual flavors of the particular cocoa-growing region. Fair Trade cocoa beans aren't "faceless" cocoa beans bought on an international exchange, but beans that can be traced back to an individual cooperative and even individual farmers.

Cocoa importers work with Fair Trade cooperatives to experiment with fermentation levels and ensure the highest quality of fine flavor beans. This care and quality management can be tasted in the end product -- Cocoa Camino's Fair Trade Certified milk chocolate bar was featured as one of Bon Appetit's "Best Chocolates" in its February 2003 issue.

Fair Trade Certified chocolate is available from 10 origins, including Ghana, Ecuador, Bolivia, and the Dominican Republic. More than 42,000 Fair Trade cocoa farmers are earning a fair price for their high quality crop.

A growing market
TransFair began certifying Fair Trade chocolate and cocoa in September, 2002, and in our first year licensed 16 companies to offer Fair Trade Certified semi-finished and branded chocolate products. Already, Fair Trade Certified hot cocoa and chocolate bars are offered in over 1600 retail locations around the US, including several Safeway, Tully's, and Whole Foods stores.

"We decided to bring in Fair Trade chocolate because in talking with people, they were painting a not-so-glamorous picture of the labor conditions for cocoa workers, and we knew our clientele was very educated and aware. The products have done very well for us."
--Christina Spencer, Candy Category Manager, Andronico's Markets

» To learn how to become a licensed manufacturer, click here >

» To learn how to become a licensed importer, click here >

» To learn how to retail Fair Trade Certified cocoa through your business, click here >