Divine chocolate is UK’s favourite Fairtrade Product

Divine, the Fairtrade chocolate company that is 45% owned by the farmers who supply its cocoa, is celebrating after its Milk Chocolate with Toffee & Sea Salt was named as the UK’s Favourite Fairtrade Product at a reception on 15 October 2014 to mark 20 years of Fairtrade in the UK, the Fairtrade Foundation reports. (Picture - from left to right: Fairtrade Foundation patron and chef Allegra McEvedy, Jamie Hartzell, Charlotte Borger, Sophi Tranchell, and Jean-Paul Pelaez from Divine, and Chief Executive of the Fairtrade Foundation Michael Gidney)
 

More than 1,700 members of the public nominated their favourite Fairtrade product for the award, with big-name global brands, supermarket own-label goods, and products consumed out of home all getting votes. But the public reserved most support for ethical companies such as Divine that were created with the purpose of making trade fairer and whose products are 100% Fairtrade. Zaytoun, a community interest company founded 10 years ago to create and develop a market for Palestinian artisan produce, was named as the runner-up for its Palestinian Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, which garnered more than 300 nominations. Third place went to the Real Easter Egg from The Meaningful Chocolate Company, whose philosophy is to love good chocolate and love helping people.
 

Several other Fair Trade organisations received votes for their products, including Cafédirect, Equal Exchange, Traidcraft, Tropical Wholefoods, Visionary Soap Company, and Liberation, which is 44% owned by smallholder nut producers. Retailers and brands also received several nominations, including The Co-operative, Sainsbury’s, Clipper, and Ben and Jerry’s. Two further awards were presented including the Outstanding Fairtrade Campaign award, which was won by The Isle of Man Fairtrade Group and the Special Recognition Award, which was given to Garstang, the world’s first Fairtrade town. More information is available here. (Picture: Tropical Wholefoods at a former edition of BioFach Germany)