From World Vision:

Green & Black’s chocolate to go Fairtrade!

Green & Black’s chocolate has announced that it will convert 90% of its range to Fairtrade by the end of 2010, and its entire range by 2011. This is exciting and very welcome news!

These announcements are great news for cocoa farmers in developing communities. Through this Fairtrade deal they will receive economic, social and environmental benefits, empowering farmers, their families and communities.

This commitment by Green & Black’s, which is owned by Cadbury, supplements Cadbury’s existing commitment to make its Cadbury Dairy Milk product Fairtrade and available to Australians by Easter this year.

You may have heard that multinational company Kraft Foods are expected to confirm the purchase of Cadbury Global in the coming days. In welcoming Green & Black’s announcement, World Vision calls on Kraft to honour Cadbury’s commitments to covert its product range to Fairtrade.

For more information read the Green & Black’s and Fairtrade joint media release.

Kraft Update from the Global Poverty Project:

Kraft has promised to honour Cadbury’s current commitments to use Fairtrade cocoa beans in the dairy milk range now being sold in the UK, New Zealand, Australian and Canada.

Our campaign to Tell Kraft: “Keep Cadbury’s Commitment” has been a great success: messages from over 1,300 supporters were passed on to the CEO of Kraft, Irene Rosenfeld.

Despite this success, our work is not yet over.

Kraft has not confirmed whether they will continue Cadbury’s ongoing talks to expand its use of Fairtrade cocoa beans to other products.

There is additional concern that Kraft’s current commitment may be time limited, with the possibility that Kraft may abandon the commitment when existing contracts end— a commitment that provided secure and sustainable livelihoods to cocoa farmers, empowering them to tackle poverty in their communities.

The Global Poverty Project team will be monitoring Kraft’s future plans to ensure Cadbury’s promise to keep and expand Fairtrade is honoured.

Your support is greatly appreciated and highly valuable. We will keep you up to date on this matter.

Keep Kraft Accountable

From the Global Poverty Project:

Before Kraft’s take-over bid, Cadbury had made one of the largest Fairtrade commitments – their whole Dairy Milk range would go Fairtrade by Easter 2010.

Cadbury estimate that by 2018 their Fairtrade partnership and Cadbury Cocoa Partnership will make a demonstrable difference to the lives of around half a million cocoa farmers.

We need your help to hold Kraft to Cadbury’s important commitments.

On Tuesday 19 January 2010, the Cadbury board agreed to recommend a $19.6 billion bid by Kraft to shareholders, paving the way for a takeover.

In 2009, Cadbury launched its commitment to ensuring that more and more of their cocoa is ethically sourced through its partnership with Fairtrade.

The Fairtrade commitments made by Cadbury are already assisting cocoa farmers, their families and their communities to secure their livelihoods and tackle poverty, and will assist more cocoa farmers into the future.

Tuesday’s take-over bid raises concerns over the future of Cadbury’s commitment to Fairtrade products.

Kraft currently do not subscribe to sourcing their products from Fairtrade. If Kraft renege on Cadbury’s promises it will be a huge backwards step for the world’s poor.

So…
Will Kraft keep Cadbury Dairy Milk as a Fairtrade product?
Will they keep Cadbury’s future commitments to introduce Fairtrade to other products?

Keep Kraft to Cadbury’s Commitments

It is important that Kraft maintain Cadbury’s commitment to providing secure and sustainable livelihoods to cocoa farmers that will enable them to tackle poverty in their communities.

Send your words of encouragement to Kraft’s CEO, Irene Rosenfeld

And we will present everyone’s views to the CEO of Kraft, demonstrating the global support for Cadbury’s Fairtrade commitment and encourage Kraft to maintain and extend these commitments.

Thanks,
The Global Poverty Project

Cadbury has just released a press statement providing a commitment to certifying Cadbury Dairy Milk as Fairtrade by early 2010 in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. This is great news! From their website…

“Today, Cadbury extends its commitment to Fairtrade by confirming that three more markets are to receive Fairtrade certification for the flagship Cadbury Dairy Milk brand by early 2010. This move in Canada, Australia and New Zealand will bring the independent FAIRTRADE Mark into millions more homes in five of Cadbury’s key chocolate markets.

This latest move takes the mainstreaming of Fairtrade to a new global level, meaning that around one quarter of Cadbury Dairy Milk global sales and 350 million Cadbury Dairy Milk bars will be Fairtrade certified in 2010. Combined with existing Fairtrade market in Britain and Ireland, the five markets will quadruple Fairtrade cocoa sales from Ghana, adding an additional 15,000 tonnes – from 5,000 tonnes in 2008 to 20,000 tonnes in 2010.”

Read the rest here…