Traditional chocolate might be cheap, but it’s packed with ingredients we’d better avoid – refined palm oil sugar.
The latter’s agriculture has been responsible for deforestation and destruction in some of the most biodiverse places on the planet, such as Papa New Guinea.
Fortunately, the last few years have seen an explosion of ethical chocolate brands.
Ethical chocolate means that chocolate has been grown, cultivated and produced with concern for the planet and that the company has treated cocoa producers and farmers fairly. Also look for:
- Single Origin Cocoa That Supports Small Farmers
- Fairtrade producers with their own brand of chocolate
- Rainforest Alliance or Soil Association certified organic ingredients
- Sprinkling of superfoods
- A high percentage of cocoa – the higher the percentage, the less sugar and other ingredients it will contain
- No refined sugar
- Vegan chocolate (which does not contain dairy products)
1. Doisy & Dam
Sometimes a little bit of ethical chocolate is all you need. We like Doisy & Damis a dark and vegan chocolate without palm oil.
Their cocoa supplier is based in Colombia and is a family-owned business of over 100 years that has pioneered fair payment and upgrading the skills of farmers for decades. The higher price Doisy & Dam pays is used to support empowerment programs to support the indigenous community, such as a training program for entrepreneurs in sustainable and income-generating initiatives.
The range now includes vanilla and cocoa bars, creamy salty truffles, crispy Ballers and sugar coated D&D, all delicious.
Doisy & Dam’s mini chocolate bars hit the mark
2. Tony’s Chocolonely
Chocolate fighting to end slavery gets a big push from us and that’s what Tony’s Chocolonely is all. The brand creates exquisite chocolate to raise awareness of exploitation, child labor and slavery within the cocoa industry.
If you are going vegan try Dark Almond & Sea Salt, otherwise the Dark Milk Bretzel Toffee is a real treat.
You can’t go wrong with chocolate fighting to end slavery
3. Cocoa loco
Cocoa loco know the importance of giving cocoa farmers a fair wage for their harvest. They get their cocoa beans from a community of small farmers in the Dominican Republic who are supported and certified by the Fairtrade Foundation and the Soil Association.
You can’t go wrong with a Chilli & Lime dark chocolate bar. Other treats include hot chocolate spoons and truffles.
Cocoa Loco supports fair wages for cocoa farmers in the Dominican Republic
4. Divine
Always a favorite with the Kenyan Pebble Team, Producer and Farmer Divine have launched a line of organic and vegan dark chocolate, perfect for curling up on the sofa.
It is made from beans from small farms in São Tomé in West Africa, known as the “Chocolate Island”. It’s rich, smooth and good, divine. Try the Turmeric and Ginger bar for an earthy and spicy touch of chocolate.
We can’t get enough of Divine’s vegan range
5. Seed and bean
We love chocolate that feels good and tastes good and Seed & Bean tick both boxes. These guys have achieved 100% ethical accreditation in the Ethical Company Index thanks to their handcrafting using British plants as well as Fairtrade and organic certified beans.
Each bar has fully recyclable and compostable packaging. Discover unusual flavors like milk chocolate, Cornish sea salt and lime.
Seed & Bean obtains a score of 100% in the Ethical Company index
6. Love cocoa
Cocoa Love was created by James Cadbury, a distant relative of the original chocolatier, Mr. Cadbury. James wants to restore passion and authenticity to chocolate making.
We love their beautifully designed chocolate boxes almost as much as the chocolate itself.
Most importantly, we are impressed with the brand’s “one bar, a tree” initiative which sees one tree planted for every bar sold. In 2020, they planted more than 500,000 trees in Cameroon.
Try the Salted Almond Dark Chocolate Bar for a delicious solution that comes in recyclable and compostable packaging.
Love Cocoa plant trees for every bar sold
7. Chocolate and love
Chocolate and love make organic, award-winning, fair-trade chocolate that is vegan, high in cocoa and low in sugar.
Each bar is made from fully traceable cocoa and the packaging it comes in contains 100% sustainable, biodegradable and compostable materials.
Try the Panama for a dark chocolate hit or go for the coffee with Arabica coffee.
8. Luisa’s vegan chocolates
Luisa’s vegan chocolates eliminate the intermediaries by making their chocolate from the bean to the bar. Luisa roasts, grinds and conches the beans herself in a cocoa liquor before tempering the chocolate to ensure maximum flavor quality.
The brand also has a direct trade policy, which means it works directly with farmers and pays them at least double the standard market rate. We love the Vegan Caramel Salted Truffles Box. Available from Fade inside.
Luisa’s vegan chocolates cut out the middleman by buying the beans directly
9. Rawr
Rawr Satisfy sweet cravings with an extra health boost with their line of raw chocolate bars.
Raw here means chocolate made at a low temperature to preserve enzymes and it is considered a super food.
Best of all, all Rawr chocolate is certified 100% organic by the Soil Association and Fairtrade. The packaging is also 100% recyclable. Try organic orange for a more gourmet taste.
10. Montezuma
The best chocolate is made from the highest quality ingredients and by Montezuma absolutely nail it.
The brand operates a fair trade policy, which means it strives to create sustainable cocoa production through education and investment in local communities.
They are also in the process of obtaining B Corp accreditation and have set themselves the goal of being carbon neutral by 2025.
If you’re feeling adventurous, try Absolute Black with 100% cocoa.
Montezuma is on the way to becoming a B-Corp
11. Wunder Workshop
Wunder Workshop believes in “drinking with a purpose” which is why their raw chocolate bars are not only good to eat, but also good for you. This chocolate has been approved by nutrition experts.
On top of that, all the ingredients are ethically sourced and they avoid monocultural farms whenever possible in favor of wild harvesting.
We recommend the Golden Turmeric Bliss Bar for a moment of relaxation.
We love Wunder Workshop’s ‘drink with a purpose’ philosophy.
12. Rue de la Pompe
Rue de la Pompe is an award-winning bakery that has since ventured into making chocolate from beans imported directly from individual properties and cooperatives around the world.
All of the packaging they use is fully compostable to be as environmentally friendly as possible.
We love the Jamaica – Bachelor’s Hall Estate 75% which is decadent and rich with notes of berries and rum.
Bakery turned chocolate maker, Pump Street uses beans imported from unique estates
13. Waitrose # 1
For ethical chocolate in the supermarket, Waitrose own label perfectly hits the spot. No.1 uses Fairtrade single origin chocolate throughout its range.
We love the Coconut & Lime Milk Chocolate made with cocoa beans from the Dominican Republic.
Another favorite is the dark chocolate with orange and almonds, made with cocoa beans from Ecuador and flavored with chopped Italian almonds and orange oil.
Waitrose No.1 delivers ethical chocolate to supermarkets
14. Booja Booja
Booja Booja makes organic and vegan dark chocolate truffles to die for.
They just introduced two new flavors (hello Honeycomb Caramel and Toffee Strudel) in their cute boxes that stand out.
We challenge you to give them to your friends and family without opening them. A real treat at the end of the month.
Booja Booja is organic, vegan and deliciously delicious
15. Original beans
The region of Selva Zoque has cultivated cocoa for 4000 years, it is also the largest tropical forest in Mexico. Climate-positive chocolate makers Original beans launched a vegan bar that uses these heritage beans to create Zoque 88% Vivid Dark Chocolate.
Each bar purchased sees new trees planted and the native Zoque and Tzotzil tribes are supported. In addition it is delicious.
Zoque 88% Spirited Dark Chocolate supports reforestation and local communities
16. Eat your hat
We can’t have a list of ethical chocolates without including Eat your hat, from Traidcraft. Apart from everything else, Sri Lankan Cardamom Milk Chocolate is a must-have whether you have a hat on or not.
The range of seven fine milk and dark chocolates (the latter is vegan) comes from small farmers in São Tomé, Peru, the Dominican Republic and Bolivia. It comes entirely from fair trade, organic and delicious.
Eat Your Hat is fair trade, organic and delicious
17. Raw Halo
Raw, dairy free and vegan, Raw halo, certainly shines for those who want purely vegetable chocolate. And with flavors like Dark + Ginger + Pecan and Dark + Mint, you certainly don’t miss a blissful feeling when you open a bar.
Made from organic raw Peruvian cocoa, organic coconut sugar, and other natural plant-based ingredients, dare we say it’s a healthier option?
Raw Halo turns chocolate into (almost) the healthiest option
