The Darker Side to Chocolate: A Chat with Tony’s Chocolonely

On Tuesday, NUImpact kicked off its first event of the semester by hosting Dena White, Director of U.S. Marketing for Tony’s Chocolonely to learn about their mission to make the cocoa industry 100% slave free. While NUImpact members left with two chocolate bars each, most important was the gained knowledge of how to be responsible chocolate consumers.

Tony’s Chocolonely was created in 2005 after an ambitious Dutch journalist investigated the cocoa industry’s use of slave labor. After attempting nearly every publicity stunt possible to call attention to the problem — including labeling himself as a “chocolate criminal” for his complicity in the industry — he decided to sell his own fairtrade chocolate. The bar was a success, and thus Tony’s Chocolonely was born.

In Ghana and the Ivory Coast (where 60% of the world’s cocoa is produced), a whopping 2.3 million children are working on cocoa farms, of which 90% work under dangerous or illegal conditions. For every $4.99 bar of chocolate sold by traditional chocolate brands, only $0.12 ends up with the farmer. Hundreds of thousands of people in the cocoa industry are victims of human trafficking. Tony’s Chocolonely seeks to end this through their equitable business model, activism and awareness campaigns.

NUImpact students had the pleasure of learning about how Tony’s goes out of its way to fight poverty in the cocoa industry. The company pays farmers 40% above market price to ensure a living wage, encourages farmers co-ops, and enters into long-term agreements to enable prosperous partnerships and communities. The company even encourages hires agricultural expertise to advise farmers on crop diversification. As a leader in the industry, Tony’s Chocolonely is a testament to the success companies can have while pursuing social impact.