Less guilty chocolate

Cadbury Dairy Milk goes Fairtrade.

15:48 23 July 2009

Cadbury has made history by re-launching its flagship chocolate bar, Dairy Milk, as a Fairtrade product  - making it the first mass market chocolate in the UK to gain the official ethical stamp of approval.

However, Cadbury has assured customers that the popular confectionary will retain its much-loved taste and at no extra cost to consumers.

Cadbury launches Fairtrade Dairy Milk bar

The move has come only a matter of months after the popular confectionery company set about its quest to gain certification from the Fairtrade Foundation.

Research carried out by the independent certification body revealed that the two biggest barriers to getting more people to buy Fairtrade products in the UK were lack of availability or visibility in-store and perceptions of price – two obstacles Cadbury's launch may well remedy.

The new line will hit shops in the next few days carrying the ethical green and blue badge of honour, making Fairtrade chocolate available in nearly 30,000 outlets, from supermarkets to independent retailers, convenience stores and garage forecourts.

Cadbury and the Fairtrade Foundation anticipate that the level of Fairtrade chocolate will treble as the average 300 million bars of Dairy Milk sold per year will now be made using coca sourced from approved suppliers.

Fairtrade Foundation executive director, Harriet Lamb, said: "This is a real milestone for Fairtrade. Cadbury Dairy Milk will create a step change in awareness of Fairtrade here in the UK, while in Ghana, it could potentially transform the lives and opportunities for thousands of people in cocoa growing communities.

"Lovers of Cadbury Dairy Milk will be able to make their purchase in the knowledge that they are supporting a brighter future for very small scale cocoa farmers, their families and their villages."