The chief executive of the Fairtrade Foundation has defended a controversial partnership with Cadbury owner Mondelēz and the creation of a rival sustainable cocoa sourcing scheme.
In his first public comments since it was announced that Cadbury’s Green & Black’s range is launching a new chocolate bar that is neither Fairtrade nor organic, Michael Gidney said it was important that consumers understood how large-scale ethical sourcing could help cocoa farmers - among the poorest in the world - and that the new model could be a template for the future.
The familiar blue and green Fairtrade mark, a gold standard of ethical trading, is this month being ditched from Cadbury’s Dairy Milk range in favour of the new Cocoa Life logo.
