Cadbury announces today a historic agreement that will transform the accessibility of Fair Trade Certified chocolate in Canada and enable Canadians to make an important difference in the lives of thousands of cocoa farmers. By summer 2010 Cadbury(i) Dairy Milk(i) bars will begin to proudly display the Fair Trade Certification mark, bringing Fair Trade certified chocolate to grocery stores, gas stations, convenience shops and corner retailers across Canada. Cadbury Dairy Milk is the first major confectionery brand in Canada to be Fair Trade Certified. With an estimated 22 million bars sold annually, it is expected to double the amount of Fair Trade Certified chocolate sold in Canada.
"We are deeply proud to make Fair Trade certified chocolate accessible right across Canada by working together with TransFair Canada to achieve certification for our biggest global brand and one of Canada's leading chocolate bars," says Gary Scullion, General Manager for Canada, Cadbury North America. "Fair Trade is designed to improve the lives of the cocoa farmers in Ghana, Africa that we source from by guaranteeing fair payment for their crop, and also paying an additional social premium fee that goes to community improvements. Canadians have the opportunity to be catalysts of change by purchasing Fair Trade Certified Dairy Milk chocolate, knowing it will improve the lives of 40,000 farmers in Ghana, and that is truly extraordinary."
Mr. P. K. Tekper, the Vice-President of Kuapa Kokoo cooperative from which Cadbury is sourcing Fair Trade cocoa, said: "We are very happy that Cadbury's have made this further commitment. The premium that we have already received from Cadbury has made a real difference to our lives. Our plans for the future are to build fourteen community projects next year, invest in the health care of our farmers and to put in place a 'Kuapa Kokoo Extension Services' to farmers to ensure sustainability of cocoa in the world market."
Cadbury's partnership with the Fairtrade Foundation in Britain and Ireland - which welcomed Fair Trade Cadbury Dairy Milk bars in July - has already resulted in the transfer of the equivalent of approximately $883,000 CDN to Ghana, the first instalment of the Fair Trade social premium. This is part of Cadbury's overall investment into cocoa sustainability though the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership.
Cadbury has a century-old commitment to sustainable and equitable cocoa farming in Ghana, Africa, where Cadbury was instrumental in developing the cocoa trade and this year, Cadbury celebrated the 100th anniversary of its first full cocoa crop from Ghana. In 2008 Cadbury established the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership, an initiative that will guide efforts to improve the lives of cocoa farmers, including Fair Trade certification. With the certification of Cadbury Dairy Milk across five markets, including Canada, Cadbury will quadruple the sales of Fair Trade cocoa from Ghana under Fair Trade terms, from 5,000 to 20,000 tones. As the number one buyer of Ghanaian Fair Trade cocoa, Cadbury is signaling to cocoa farmers its belief that Fair Trade is the preferred, rigorous certification system, and one that is committed to delivering tangible change for them and their communities.
"The certification of Cadbury Dairy Milk will improve the lives and communities of over 40,000 cocoa farmers and 6,000 sugar farmers, ensuring a guaranteed income, viable growth and hope for a prosperous future," says Rob Clarke, Executive Director of TransFair Canada, the national Fair Trade Certification body and Canadian member of the Fairtrade Labelling Organization (FLO) International (http://www.fairtrade.net/) . "Cadbury Dairy Milk going Fair Trade also provides Canadians with an unprecedented opportunity to share in the success of these farmers and the presence of the Fair Trade Certification mark on every bar provides independent assurance that Fair Trade standards were met."
Cadbury Australia/New Zealand also announced today Fair Trade certification for Cadbury Dairy Milk in their markets, further expanding Cadbury's commitment to ethical and sustainable sourcing and cementing Cadbury Dairy Milk as the largest Fair Trade Certified chocolate brand in the world. These two announcements follow the initial commitment by Cadbury in March of this year for Cadbury Dairy Milk to go Fair Trade in Britain and Ireland - the first Fair Trade certified Cadbury Dairy Milk bars were shipped to retailers in Britain and Ireland this past July.
Cadbury's commitment to Fair Trade in Canada will mean that approximately 11 per cent of all chocolate products Cadbury sells in Canada will be Fair Trade Certified. This announcement applies to the entire pure chocolate Cadbury Dairy Milk range: Cadbury Dairy Milk 42g, 100g and 200g; Cadbury Dairy Milk Thins, the first 100-calorie bar in Canada and Cadbury Dairy Milk treat size for Halloween. Cadbury intends to ship the first Fair Trade certified bars in Summer 2010.
The Cadbury Cocoa Partnership
Last year Cadbury announced the establishment of the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership (http://www.dearcadbury.com/) , a groundbreaking, global initiative supported by the United Nations Development Programme under which Cadbury is investing the equivalent of approximately $82 million CDN to secure the sustainable socio-economic future of cocoa farming. The equivalent of approximately $55 million CDN is allocated to Ghana, Africa, where Cadbury and its partners are addressing the challenges farmers face and working to improve productivity and grow the industry. The Cadbury Cocoa Partnership works on the ground to improve farmer yields, expand biodiversity of crops, invest in community development and establish progressive partnerships. The scale of investment and the level of company commitment make this the largest cocoa program of its kind.
Prior to the establishment of the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership, Cadbury had committed to community improvements in Ghana and by 2008 Cadbury had led the construction of 850 wells, benefitting more than 130,000 people; donated books and provided support to help communities build libraries and educational facilities; and Cadbury will send 5,000 bicycles to Ghana, Africa in November 2009 as a result of The Bicycle Factory promotion. The bicycles will be donated to communities in Ghana, where they are to be used in the communities, including helping children get to school and improving access to education.
Fair Trade Certification
Fair Trade is an alternative approach to conventional trade and is based on a partnership between producers and consumers. Fair Trade Certification is an independent monitoring and auditing system that ensures standards have been met. It directly impacts more than 1.5 million democratically organized producers and workers in 58 developing countries and provides consumers with a simple and reliable method to make a difference in peoples' lives through their purchases. Fair Trade is specifically designed to help producers improve the quality of their lives and take more control over their futures.
- Fair Trade Certification aims to ensure democratic associations of family farmers receive a guaranteed fair price for their goods to cover the cost of sustainable production and provide security during fluctuating world markets;
- Fair Trade Certification ensures an additional social premium fee is paid that farmers invest to improve the social, economic and environmental conditions within their communities;
- Fair Trade Certification offers long term contracts with producers and ensures access to advance credit of up to 60 per cent of the value of contracts.
Francis Sampson Kwesi, a 48 year old cocoa farmer from the Ghanaian village of Kromameng, one of those involved in the Cocoa Partnership and now hoping to gain Fair Trade Certification, added: "One of the main benefits is that I can invest the proceeds out of the cocoa in things such as the upkeep of the children's school fees, as well as in developments for the whole community, such as building roads. It helps us to have a higher standard of living, as although the land here (in Ghana) is good for cocoa growing, when we are not in the season of cocoa, we need everything else to help make the environment more conducive for cocoa growing."
The certification of Cadbury Dairy Milk products will be monitored and audited by TransFair Canada and FLO-Cert, the independent certification arm of the Fair Trade Labeling Organizations (FLO) International. Together they ensure compliance with internationally-recognized Fair Trade standards from the producer to the point of packaging.
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