Cocoa from Ruohonjuuri is a responsible choice!

Unfortunately, much of the world's cocoa is still produced in unfair conditions, even involving child labor and human trafficking.

Many cocoa farmers live in extreme poverty, which is why dangerous working conditions, malnutrition and illiteracy are commonplace for many. Globally, the fact that the cocoa trade is concentrated in the hands of a few big players causes problems. When a small number of giant companies maintain control of cocoa bean processing operations, they have disproportionate power in the cocoa industry.

Fair trade with respect for people and nature

Many Ruohonjuuri chocolates, such as the Tony's Chocolonely range of chocolates, have been awarded the Fair Trade label, which helps to guarantee their ethical origin.

The use of child labor is prohibited in the cultivation of Fair Trade cocoa. Chores performed on the family farm must not jeopardize children’s schooling or health. Compliance with the ban is also monitored, and if violations are found they are addressed immediately.

The Fair Trade criteria guarantee cocoa farmers at least a guaranteed price for their harvest, which is always at least USD 2,000 per tonne for cocoa beans. This covers the costs of sustainable production. In addition, the purchaser always pays the producer a separate Fair Trade premium, which producer organizations use for projects that benefit the community, such as education, health services, processing equipment, and loans to their members.

If the world market price rises above the guaranteed price, compensation equal to the world market price will be paid. The Fair Trade premium is USD 200 a tonne. An additional USD 300 per tonne is paid for Fair Trade organic cocoa. It is also possible for farmers to receive up to 60 percent of the value of the cocoa consignment to be purchased as pre-financing if they wish.

Voimaruoka and the CocoVi range of cocoa products are organic and of Peruvian and Ecuadorian origin.  

Brands imported by Makrobios buy their cocoa from Ecuador, the Dominican Republic and Peru. Naturally, the rules and principles of organic and fair trade also help to regulate cultivation conditions and other production conditions.

Do good to the world by choosing Goodio raw chocolate!

Also the cocoa in the raw chocolate of the Goodio series has been produced responsibly – and that’s not all.

“The ethics of cocoa production is important. We at Goodio are well aware of the shortcomings of cocoa production – and the shortcomings are one of the main reasons why our company exists in the first place. Goodio was founded because, by our own example, we can influence the way companies operate, consumer choices and, through this, have a positive impact on the wellbeing of the planet as well as people. “We at Goodio do not use unethically produced cocoa. Instead, our beans currently come from Peru, Ecuador and the Republic of the Congo. We pay about two to four times more for our beans than the world market price for cocoa (ICCO),” says Jukka Peltola, founder of Goodio.

“Our mission is to bring full transparency to our products, as we believe that through this we will increase awareness and promote positive change. We are currently discussing with various parties how we could, for example, use blockchain technology to verify the movement of money and virtual reality to illustrate farms and production steps. In addition, we publish recipes for our products and develop a 1-on-1 model, which in practice means that for every chocolate bar, a child in Sierra Leone, for example, gets to go to school for a certain period of time. We calculated conservatively that with the sale of one million chocolate bars, we would be able to support the annual studies of about 20,000 children,” Peltola calculates.

“Goodio is still a young company and our resources are quite limited, but we strongly believe that we will get the masses behind us by our own example and that the previous practices in the chocolate industry will experience a revolution,” Peltola Goodio predicts.

Puhdistamo products are all about fair trade!

This also includes the Puhdistamo cocoa products – and by buying Puhdistamo’s raw cocoa products, you can be sure of the quality and purity, but also ethical operations.

“We pay our farmers a better price for cocoa, which allows them to grow the highest quality Arriba Nacional variety. In addition, they can invest more in their quality of life, their own happiness and develop the wellbeing and economy of their community, making it possible for people to stay in their home villages instead of moving to cities for work,” says Puhdistamo’s Lindström.

“We also want to offer our farmers the opportunity to develop in their work and support their training in, among other things, farming methods, organic certification, biodynamic practices and administrative measures. Many who have started as collectors now operate as producers of organic cocoa.”

“We also support the organization of a training program for young people on the production and commercialization of cocoa, quality development and the improvement of the farmers status in the production chain. In this way, we guarantee that the village’s source of income is maintained, future know-how is guaranteed, and operating methods are developed,” Lundström explains.

Foodin’s products are a responsible choice

The cocoa products in the Foodin series obviously also adhere to ethical principles.

“Foodin’s cocoa comes from Atalaya, Peru, near Macchu Picchu, where it is grown by hundreds of family farmers. Our partner buys cocoa from the communities formed by these farmers. Our partner also trains farmers in sustainable farming, which takes into account biologically diverse forestry. In addition to cocoa, bananas and coffee are also grown. Our partner provides farmers with tools for processing cocoa and also collaborates with a local organization to promote organic farming methods,” explains Lasse Jalkanen, founder and CEO of Foodin.

“We also import cocoa from Ecuador – from Esmeraldas, where cocoa grows even slightly higher up in the mountains. Due to its special taste profile, Ecuadorian cocoa is used in our special chocolates. Fair compensation for this cocoa is of course paid to farmers,” Jalkanen adds.

Buy raw chocolates from the Ruohonjuuri online store >>

Buy cocoa products from the Ruohonjuuri online store >>