Why spending a little more for Fair Trade should make you feel good this holiday!

I was going to write a Yelp review of the new “Pure Dark” chocolate store on Union Street here in San Francisco, but I quickly realized that it was turning into a political rant, so I moved it here.  If you’re in for a rant, read on.

 Kuapa Kokoo Union farmer, part of a Fair Trade Group in Ghana

So I'm walking down the street and there's a little sign with balloons in front of a storefront that says "Gilt City."  Then I look above the storefront and see a sign that says: “Pure Dark.” I will soon discover the irony.  I asked the PR woman in front of the shop what was going on, as it looked interesting-- lots of wine flowing, people, and in the window display, large chunks of dark chocolate with burlap and baskets and photos of anonymous "dark hands" lifting cocoa beans up in a celebratory gestures of abundance.  Hmm…I thought, I wonder where this cocoa comes from, so I asked the PR rep.  “Well, actually, I don’t really know! I suppose I should,” she said. “You can go in if you like, and take a look around.”  I was just in from the gym and not looking very classy but since she invited me, I thought, why not.  Little did I know that it was an “exclusive invitation only” affair (a whopping $5 fee!) so I suppose that it was nice of her to overlook my sneakers.

I venture inside. More photos of anonymous dark hands and pretty little baskets to put chocolate purchases in.  There were a lot of people at the free sample bar so I thought I would investigate the origin of the chocolate myself.  I pick up one of the chocolate bars at the “Pure Dark” display, and squinted to read the small print: “Mars and Co.” Interesting.  But no indication of where the actual cocoa was from.  So I finally went up to the counter, and waited to ask the salesperson while I downed a very strange-but tasty rhubarb chocolate bruschetta. 

“Where do you get your cocoa from, just out of curiosity?” I asked a harried hipster at the counter. “Um, I think most of it comes from West Africa, and some Brazil.”

So why was the information so hard to find, i.e. invisible? Many local purveyors of coffee and chocolate, like Peet’s, freely display the “guts” of their business as well as how they are working with producers to improve quality of life in developing countries.  Here, there was not even the slightest nod to the people who produced the chocolate.  Like diamonds (even blood diamonds) the more shiny and beautiful you make them, the less people are aware that it’s just a rock—a rock that comes out of the ground, that someone had to dig up. 

But all of it makes sense when you learn that Mars is anything but a local business.  It’s the 6^th largest private corporation in America, and makes everything from Dove soap to dog food. And, San Fran’s techies might like to know, it’s tech division created Four Square. They’re a company known for being very secret about how they operate, from how they put the letters on their M&Ms to why they don’t participate in Fair Trade, claiming that their own (who’d know?) practices are better for producers.  That’s convenient.  They must be secretive too with their own PR contractor, “Gilt City.”  How would the PR rep know where the cocoa comes from when Mars probably makes a point not to tell her?  West Africa cocoa plantations are rife with nasty “PR nightmares” like child and forced labor abuses, human rights violations, human trafficking, and gender based violence.  Although the Mars company has recently made some advances towards sustainability, having announced that all its chocolate products will be made from sustainable sources by 2020, sustainable does not necessarily mean human rights sustainable, nor Fair Trade.  For a company with $30 Billion in annual revenue, they need to do more. Other US candy companies like Nestle and Hershey need to step up to the plate too.

What can we do? Buy Fair Trade chocolate- and coffee, and anything that you can afford to buy Fair Trade for that matter. The few extra cents don’t mean you’re being “picky” or “snobby” about your chocolate, they mean you’re supporting the companies that are doing the right thing, and it should feel good.

Here’s a link to some more info, the first from World Vision’s advocacy arm:

http://www.worldvisionacts.org/?q=fair_christmas

There are petitions out there but I haven’t found a current one for the US specifically on cocoa—I may start one myself.   Watch this site though, for other news and ways to get involved: http://www.equalexchange.coop/

Good news! This well-intended rant is just in time for your last-minute socially conscious Christmas shopping!