5 Sustainable Chocolate Brands To Try In 2020; this year many of us are making that extra effort to be ethical and environmentally friendly, here’s how you can do so while indulging!
Last year saw many people in the UK move towards a more sustainable lifestyle. We opened our eyes to the damage we were causing to our global environment. Plastic straws were ditched, single use plastic was outlawed, and the iconic Starbucks cup was quickly replaced by reusable varieties. We also began to raise our voices more and more about unfair practices in unsustainable farming.
With veganism and plant-based eating on the rise, it’s inevitable that the average consumer will become more interested in ethical eating in 2020. Ethical eating doesn’t have to be restricted to having our dinner on Meatless Monday or throughout Veganuary though. It can extend to every branch of our individual diets, where reasonable and affordable of course.
Chocolate is a controversial subject in the discussion of sustainable consumption, but it remains a staple in the British diet. It is the product of far-flung imports and typically terrible treatment of farmers. However, many British-based or British-linked companies are making moves to improve the ethics and sustainability of the cocoa they farm and conditions of the people they employ.
These 5 sustainable chocolate brands to try in 2020 are providing sustainably sourced, ethically farmed chocolate treats. They are moving away from the big chocolate companies (cough cough Cadbury and Mars) that treat workers poorly and abuse the land they grow on. They sell ranges of delicious products, mostly free from animal produce and palm oil too.
Scroll down for more info and links to buy from these 5 sustainable chocolate brands to try in 2020!
1. Hotel Chocolat
I blow this company’s trumpet so much that you should already know how great they are.
Now a staple on many UK high streets, Hotel Chocolat offer a reasonably priced way to sample some good quality ethical chocolate. Not only do they work with farmers in West Africa to improve working conditions, they also actively engage in reducing food waste. Not many companies can admit to selling recycled by-products like roasted cocoa shells in their shops! They take their cocoa from a range of countries across South America, meaning they don’t abuse and overuse the land of a single area or country.
From individual bars to impressive luxury hampers, you can get a wide range of treats and feel good about it. I’d recommend their Single Origin bars.
Buy Hotel Chocolat chocolate here.
2. Willie’s Cacao
This company has a huge focus on the bean-to-bar process. They control every single step of their process from the cocoa pods that fall from the trees on their farm to the bars that end up in your hand. Willie’s Cacao gets their ingredients directly from the farmers that grow and pick them. This means that they can be paid fairly on a long-term basis rather than being treated poorly by middlemen companies in temporary work.
As well as offering a delicious range of flavoured chocolate with added fruits and nuts, this company does wonders to exhibit how different beans can provide wildly different flavours. I’d recommend their nutty Venezuelan dark chocolate.
Buy Willie’s Cacao chocolate here.
3. Seed & Bean
These guys, even in their name, aim to raise awareness of the cocoa-making process and how unfair it can be. Seed & Bean care about selecting ethical fairtrade suppliers to ensure worker’s rights throughout the manufacturing of their chocolate. They also utilise organic beans in their products to ensure that they do not cause excessive damage to the surrounding ecosystem. Their products even come wrapped in fully compostable packaging, meaning it won’t be hanging around for too long after you’ve scoffed the bar!
Seed & Bean chocolate can be found in vegan and health food shops, and online. I’d recommend their Raspberry and Vanilla White Chocolate.
Buy Seed & Bean chocolate here.
4. Tony’s Chocolonely
A more affordable option on the list. Tony’s Chocolonely are a newcomer to British supermarkets, popping up in Sainsbury’s nationwide in mid 2019.
Tony’s aim is to make chocolate completely free from slavery, a bold main focus for a relatively new company. Since 2003, they have been actively doing as much as possible to make the production of delicious treats fair and sustainable. Rather than setting up their manufacturing process in South America, where most ethical companies grow, they chose to start in West Africa. This is because they felt the best way to tackle the problem of slavery and cruelty in the production of our favourite sweet treat was to start at the roots.
These bars are vividly appealing, uniquely chunky, and completely addictive. They are widely available in Sainsbury’s across the UK and also available online. I’d recommend their Dark Milk Pretzel Toffee Bar!
Watch my review of their ethical chocolate bars here.
Buy Tony’s Chocolonely chocolate here.
5. Divine
You may have spotted Divine bars in coffee shops and supermarkets already. This company was set up in the late 1990s by actual cocoa farmers in Ghana after an initiative to improve working conditions. The chocolate is sustainably sourced, pays workers fairly and is publicly supported by other global cruelty-free companies. Divine also control the whole process, from bean to bar.
Divine creates bars, truffles and other chocolate treats that you can enjoy safe in the knowledge that it is providing sustainable work for farmers and factory workers. Their classic Milk Chocolate bar is one not to be missed.
You can find Divine in most supermarkets or online. Buy Divine chocolate here.
I hope this list of 5 sustainable chocolate brands to try in 2020 has given you some inspiration on where to buy your treats from next. Protecting the planet doesn’t mean we have to stop our favourite indulgences, rather choosing quality over quantity.
I’m not here to tell you to stop buying from your favourite big brands, just to give you some ideas on how to clean up our shopping habits.
