My ultimate goal by presenting this information in this way is to encourage skeptical, critical, thinking, not blind acceptance. I want readers to become vigilantly critical and to view claims that appear on product labels and marketing skeptically until otherwise demonstrated to be true.
the blacklist
There are many attempts to generate and maintain “whitelists” of ethical chocolate companies. This is not one of them.
The guide to the selection criteria for The Wicked BadList can be found in this post.
In pursuit of this goal I carefully and deliberately chose to use loaded language in a way I thought would call attention to the irony of my word choices. However, some listeners and readers were not open to my ironic usage and suggested I could make the points I wanted to make using less polarizing language.
So I have.
I chose wicked because of the fact common usage has both negative – wicked bad – and positive – wicked good – connotations. That made me smile.
caveats & disclaimers
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These lists represent my personalopinion of the named companies and individuals based on my assessment of the criteria I set out in the above-referenced post where those criteria are set forth.
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If you believe there is an error of attribution or misattribution, please communicate about it in the comments section, with reasons for why you think there is an error, so there is a public record of the exchange.
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All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Wicked Bad
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Updates:April 25th, 2022 – added in the “unrequited” companies in section 2; those companies getting an orange or red bunny in the Be Slavery Free 2022 Chocolate Scorecard.April 9th, 2022 – added in section 8; based on work done by the Yale School of Management.
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There is no argument from silence to be inferred from an entity being absent from mention on any of the following lists.
| 1 :: Seen in Court – see tables following for lists of subsidiaries and brands |
|---|
| Barry Callebaut |
| Cargill, Incorporated |
| Hershey Company, The |
| Mars, Inc |
| Mondelēz International |
| Nestlé SA |
| Olam International |
| Rainforest Alliance |
| 2 :: Booted and Unrequited (Updated April 25th) |
|---|
| Tony’s Chocolonely; removed in 2021 from SlaveFreeChocolate.org’s list |
| Barry Callebaut, Cargill, Cémoi, Fuji Oil (Blommer’s), Orkla, Pladis, Puratos, Ritter Sport, Touton, Unilever, Valrhona / All received an orange bunny in the 2022 Be Slavery Free Chocolate Scorecard |
| Daito Cacao, Glico (TCHO), Godiva, Itochu, Kellog’s, Meiji, Morinaga, Stollwerck / All received a dread red bunny in the 2022 Be Slavery Free Chocolate Scorecard |
| Sources: Be Slavery Free Scorecard |
| 3 :: “Belgium’s ‘Finest’” |
|---|
| Belcolade (Belgium, subsidiary of Puratos Group) |
| Chocolove (USA) – uses Barry Callebaut extensively |
| Galler (Belgium) |
| Godiva (Turkey, subsidiary of Yildiz Holdings) |
| Guylian (Belgium) |
| Jacques Torres (USA) – uses Belcolade extensively |
| Leonidas (Belgium) |
| Marcolini (Belgium) |
| Mary (Belgium) |
| Neuhaus (Belgium) |
| Resources: TL;DR see CHOPRABISCO for many other entries |
| 4 :: Incomplete and/or Disingenuous Supply Chain Disclosures and Marketing Language |
|---|
| Every entity that takes advantage of mass balance |
| 1-800-Flowers.com Inc. |
| Blue Stripes Cacao (US); uses Callebaut, Hershey is an investor |
| Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli |
| Tony’s Chocolonely – post-hoc rationalization of its relationship with Barry Callebaut; though they use RA cocoa, they eschew mass balance |
| Mid Day Squares – uses Mass Balance FT cocoa; “Made with Real ...;” “First...” |
| 5 :: Subsidiaries / Brands |
|---|
| See the Subsidiaries & Brands by Company tables following |
| 6 :: NGOs / Initiatives |
|---|
| Fairtrade Licensing Organization (FLO) |
| Fair Trade USA |
| Rainforest Alliance / UTZ |
| 7 :: Gaslighters / Apologists |
|---|
| Barry Callebaut |
| Cargill, Incorporated |
| Fairtrade Licensing Organization (FLO) |
| Fair Trade USA |
| Hershey Company, The |
| Mars, Inc |
| Mondelēz International |
| Nestlé SA |
| Olam International |
| Rainforest Alliance / UTZ |
| Unilever |
| 8 :: Business as Usual-ish, Much? in Russia (updated April 9, 2022) |
|---|
| AB InBev – major investor is also majority owner of Tony’s Chocolonely |
| Barry Callebaut |
| Cargill |
| Ferrero S.p.a |
| General Mills |
| Groupe Savencia – see Subsidiaries and Brands table |
| Mondelēz – parent company of Cadbury & Green & Blacks, among many others |
| Nestlé SA – see subsidiaries and brands table below |
| Olam Group |
| Resources: Yale School of Management |
| Companies divesting themselves of/suspending business operations in Russia include: Fazer, Grainpro, Haribo, Krispy Kreme, Lindt & Sprüngli, Starbucks – visit the Yale SOM website for the up to date lists |
Subsidiaries and Brands
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The following (alphabetically ordered) lists are incomplete and in flux – keeping up with mergers, acquisitions, sales, and new formations in an industry that numbers many thousands of companies globally is no small task.
| 1-800-Flowers.com Inc. |
|---|
| 1-800-Baskets.com, Alice’s Table, Bloom.net, Cheryl’s Cookies, Design Pac, Fruit Bouquets, Harry & David, Moose Munch, The Popcorn Factory, Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker (2024), Shari’s Berries, Simply Chocolate, Stock Yards Wolferman’s Bakery, Vital Choice |
| Source: 1-800-Flowers.com |
| Barry Callebaut |
|---|
| American Almond, Bensdorp, Caboosse Naturals (Wholefruit, Evocao), Cacao Barry, Callebaut, Caprimo, Carma, Chocovic, Gertrude Hawk, IBC Belgium, La Morella, Le Royale, Mona Lisa, Satro, SICAO, Stewart & Arnold (UK), Van Houten, Van Leer |
| Sources: Barry Callebaut Wikipedia |
| Cargill, Incorporated |
|---|
| Ambrosia, Diamond Salt, Genuine, Gerkens, Merckens, Peter’s, Truvia, Wilbur, Veliche |
| The above brands are associated with Cargill’s global cocoa and chocolate operations. Cargill owns many other brands in other food sectors (including plant-based meat analogs, supplements, aninmal nutrition, pharma, meat and poultry, and more). Maintaining a comprehensive list is beyond the scope of this endeavor. |
| My obervation is that it would be extremely difficult to live a 100% Cargill-free life. |
| Source: Cargill, Wikipedia, Investopedia |
| Groupe Savencia / Savencia Group |
|---|
| Gourmet: Adamance, Chocolatree, Norohy, República del Cacao, Sosa, Valrhona/La Maison du Chocolat, Weiss |
| Cheese & Dairy: AFP, Au Bouchon, Armor, Bresse Bleu, Corman, Dorothy’s, Elle & Vire, Epoisses Berthaut, Esquirrou, Etorki, Fauquet, Holland Master, Lescure, Rogue Creamery, Roquefort Papillon, Savencia Fromage & Dairy Argentina |
| Source: Groupe Savencia Website |
| Hershey Company, The |
|---|
| 5th Avenue, Almond Joy, BarkThins, Brookside, Cadbury (US/Caramello, Creme Egg, Dairy Milk, Fruit & Nut, Roast Almond, Royal Dark), Dagoba®, Extra Dark®, Goodbar, Heath, Ice Breakers, Jolly Rancher, Kisses, KitKat, Lily’s, Milk Duds, Mr Goodbar, Mounds, One, Paqui, PayDay, Pirate’s Booty, Reese’s, Rolo (US/Nestlé), Skinny Pop, Skor, Symphony, Twizzlers, Whathamcallit, Whoppers, York |
| Sources: The Hershey Company Wikipedia |
| Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli |
|---|
| Ghirardelli, Lindor, Lindt, Russell Stover, Whitman’s (manufactured by Russel Stover) |
| Source: Wikipedia |
| Mars, Inc. / The Wrigley Company |
|---|
| Altoids, Big Red, Bounty, Celebrations, Cocovia, Dove, Doublemint, Eclipse, Ethel M, 3 Musketeers, Galaxy, Hubba Hubba, Juicy Fruit, Live Savers, M & Ms, Maltesers, Marathon, Mars, Milky Way, Skittles, Snickers, Starburst, Twix, Wrigley’s |
| Mars owns many other brands in other food sectors (including pet food and veterinary health). Maintaining a comprehensive list is beyond the scope of this endeavor. My obervation is that it would be extremely difficult to go 100% Mars-free. |
| Sources: Mars, Wikipedia |
| Mondelēz International |
|---|
| Belvita, Cadbury (some products manufactured in USA under license by The Hershey Company), Chiclets, Chips Aboy, Côte d’Or, Dentyne, Jacobs Douwe Egberts, Freia, Fry’s, Green & Black’s, Halls, HU Kitchen, Kraft, LU, Marabou, Milka, Oreo, Peek Freens, Ritz, Sour Patch Kids, Tate’s Bake Shop, Toblerone, Triscuit |
| Source: Wikipedia |
| Nestlé SA |
|---|
| Food: Abuelita, Acqua Panna, Aero, After Eight, Blue Bottle Coffee, Buitoni, Cailler, California Pizza Kitchen, Carlos V, Carnation, DiGiorno Pizza, Frigo, Garota, Haagen Dazs, Hot Pockets, Kit Kat (outside USA, manufactured in USA by Hersey), Lean Cuisine, Les Recettes De L’Atelier, Milkybar, Milo, Nescafé, Nespresso, Nesquick, Nestea, Orion, Ovaltine, Perrier, Quality Street, Rowntrees, San Pellegrino, Smarties, Stouffer’s, Taster’s Choice, Starbucks (license), Terrafertil (Essential Living Foods), Toll House, Tombstone Pizza, Vittel |
| Other product categories: Healthcare/Nutrition; Instant Foods; Performance Nutrition; Petcare; Seasonings; Yogurt |
| Shareholder in: L’Oreal (Garnier, Maybelline, Lancôme, Urban Decay) |
| Sources include: Nestlé Global, Wikipedia |
| Puratos Group |
|---|
| Belcolade, Carat, Chocolanté, Grand Place, Patisfrance |
| Source: Puratos Group |
| Unilever |
|---|
| Food: Ben & Jerry’s, Best Foods, Bovril, Breyers, Colman’s, Fudgsicle, Heartbrand/Wall’s, Hellmann’s, Klondike, Knorr, Lipton, Magnum, Marmite, Popsicle, Talenti |
| Personal Care: Axe/Lynx, Dove, Lifebouy, Omo/Persil, Rexona/Degree, Sunsilk |
| Source: Wikipedia |
Wicked Good
The Wicked Good list is under construction
I developed a set of criteria for making it on the wicked bad list, those criteria are in the following post:
the blacklist
There are many attempts to generate and maintain “whitelists” of ethical chocolate companies. This is not one of them.
I don’t think it’s sufficient to assume any entity not on the wicked bad list should automagically be on the wicked good list. I haven’t finished my criteria for inclusion on the wicked good list, but when I do, I will publish them and start adding to this list.
If you have some ideas for criteria and companies that meet those criteria, please share them in the comments.
Under the Gaslight ...
Does it Walk or Talk Like a Duck? Then maybe it’s a duck.
This category has been created to accommodate people and companies that do not fit the wicked bad or wicked good criteria but whose statements and actions, in my opinion, need to be examined critically and viewed skeptically absent that critical examination.
| Walks and/or Talks Like an Apologist |
|---|
| Antonie Fountain, VOICE Network |
| Dr. Kristy Leissle – does not transparently disclose relationships with Nestlé and the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) |
| Nico Roozen / Solidaridad Network |
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Original image by Tim Mossholder / Unsplash
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Have thoughts to share or questions to ask?Leave them in the comments.