Fair-Trade Cacao

Last week London-based organic chocolatier Green & Black’s announced that it will phase in 100-percent fair-trade certified ingredients by the end of 2010. The company, which entered the US market in 2007, offers a full line of vegan dark chocolate bars, including Cherry, Espresso, Ginger, Hazelnut & Currant, and Mint. Fifteen years ago Green & Black’s launched the Maya Bar-also vegan-the UK’s first-ever fair-trade certified product. The chocolatier sources most of its signature Trinitario cacao beans from a Dominican Republic-based farming cooperative, CONCADO, which will now receive fair trade benefits, including guaranteed minimum prices and premiums for investment in communities.