Dairy Cows in Vermont (photo by Tara, courtesy of morgueFile.com)

Many large corporations are busily sending messages about their newly “green” behavior, but Ben & Jerry’s has been operating as a socially responsible company for decades. The company has just announced a commitment to go fully Fair Trade across its entire global flavor portfolio by 2013.

Ben & Jerry’s was the first ice cream company in the world to use Fair Trade Certified™ ingredients starting in 2005, and today it’s racing ahead as the first ice cream company to make such a significant commitment to Fair Trade across its global portfolio.

Company co-founder Jerry Greenfield said, ”Fair Trade is about making sure people get their fair share of the pie. The whole concept of Fair Trade goes to the heart of our values and sense of right and wrong. Nobody wants to buy something that was made by exploiting somebody else.”

Ben & Jerry’s Fair Trade commitment means that every ingredient that can be sourced Fair Trade Certified™, now or in the future, is Fair Trade Certified™. Globally, this involves converting up to 121 different chunks and swirls, working across eleven different ingredients such as cocoa, banana, vanilla and other flavorings, fruits and nuts. It also means working with Fair Trade cooperatives that total a combined membership of over 27,000 farmers.

Tackling Poverty through Trade

Rob Cameron, Chief Executive of Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO) said, “Congratulations to Ben & Jerry’s on the scale and the depth of this commitment to take their whole range Fair Trade. Tackling poverty and sustainable agriculture through trade may not be easy but it is always worth it, and Ben & Jerry’s has demonstrated real leadership in laying out this long-term ambition to engage with smallholders, who grow nuts, bananas, vanilla, cocoa and other Fair Trade-certified ingredients. Ben & Jerry’s, like all of us in the Fair Trade movement, believe that people can have fun standing up to injustice and campaigning against poverty while enjoying some of Ben & Jerry’s best-selling favorites like Phish Food and Chocolate Fudge Brownie, how cool is that.”

Farmers selling Fair Trade products earn a better income, which allows them to stay on their land. Fair Trade premiums also allow for reinvestment in their farms, their families, their communities and their future. Fair Trade means that certified farmers are using environmentally sound practices to grow and harvest their crops in a sustainable way.

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