- At Thorntons, we recognise that
we’ve got lots of social, ethical and environmental
responsibilities. So here are a few of the things we do to make
sure we’re good to all the people we know...
Our customers
Because we want as many people as possible to enjoy our
mouth-watering chocolates, we like to offer as wide a range of
products as possible – including organic, Fairtrade and no
added sugar ranges.
Like you, we know that eating too much chocolate isn’t good
for you, so all our products feature detailed nutritional advice so
that you can make an informed choice. We also know that kids love
chocolate, so we don’t use any artificial colours or flavours
in our children’s products. If you’re unsure about
anything, just ask – we’ll be happy to give you
detailed information on any of our products or ingredients.
Our master chocolatier has incredibly high standards. He and his
team make sure that every single chocolate we sell is of the
highest possible quality. If you’re ever unhappy with a
product or you feel we’ve let you down in any way, please get
in touch and we promise to do our best to put things right.
Thorntons and Ethical Sourcing
Ethical sourcing is very important to Thorntons. We are very aware
of the impact our business can have on communities and the global
environment and particularly the value of fair trading practises in
creating sustainable success.
Thorntons uses over 300 different raw materials, which are sourced
by our suppliers from all around the world. We ensure all suppliers
maintain high levels of ethical, social and environmental standards
by regularly visiting and auditing 95% of our suppliers in
person.
While our main concern is food safety, our audits also review
ethics, health and safety, employee pay, employment conditions and
environmental policies and practices.
We regularly review and revise our purchasing policy to ensure all
suppliers throughout our supply chain are treated fairly. We aim to
build long-term relationships based on openness and honesty and to
apply the highest moral and business standards.
Sourcing Cocoa Sustainably
Thorntons buys all of our cocoa from two of the world’s most
respected suppliers Barry Callebaut and Cargill. We require that
they ensure the ethical sourcing of our cocoa and, in particular,
we do not accept the use of illegal, abusive or enforced child
labour.
We are, however, pleased to say that they have excellent
initiatives and partnerships in place with farmers, in the Ivory
Coast and other countries, to actively improve sustainability and
promote responsible labour practices.
We are currently working with our suppliers to extend our existing
range of FairTrade products and to start using Rainforest Alliance
certified products.
Thorntons is a member of the World Cocoa Foundation ("WCF"). One of
the WCF's objectives is to encourage responsible sustainable cocoa
farming amongst small family-run farms and we are examining ways to
make a greater contribution to improving the conditions of cocoa
farmers.
Thorntons’ two chocolate suppliers, Cargill and Barry
Callebaut, ensure the ethical sourcing of their cocoa from cocoa
farmers around the world and actively support the International
Cocoa Initiative (ICI) and World Cocoa Federation programs to
improve livelihoods of cocoa farm families and promote responsible
labour practices. Between them, they employ thousands of people
both directly and indirectly in purchasing and processing cocoa and
monitoring and auditing the cocoa farms they work with.
Barry Callebaut and its Ivory Coast subsidiaries launched
its Quality Partner Programme with cocoa farmer cooperatives in
2005. The program aims to create a sustainable, upward spiral in a
challenging economic and political environment. In 2008,
approximately 40,000 cocoa farmers, represented by 47 partner
cooperatives, participated in the Quality Partner Programme.
Barry Callebaut’s Quality Partner Program rewards
cooperatives and their farmer members for providing quality beans
whilst also investing in education, training and tools to help them
achieve it. For the best beans a premium is paid to cooperatives in
the program and extra premiums can also be paid at the end of a
bean campaign if the average quality ofhe beans supplied fulfils
certain quality criteria. Many cooperatives need financing
assistance before and during the crop season to support their
farmer members and for operational purposes. Barry Callebaut
provides millions of Euro in prefinancing support to member
cooperatives annually in the form of interest-free loans.
In addition, the Quality Partner Program provides farmers and their
families with basic healthcare support services and includes child
labor sensitization activities. The importance of schooling for
children is emphasized and academic achievements are
celebrated.
Barry Callebaut opened its first processing plant in the Ivory
Coast in 1964 and the company has invested heavily in the country
ever since. Barry Callebaut currently employs approximately 600
people in Ivory Coast, Ghana and Cameroon.
Cargill has been operating in the Ivory Coast since 1997 and
employs nearly 500 people directly and 2,000 indirectly in
purchasing and processing cocoa. High quality cocoa, grown in a
sustainable way, is essential to the economies and livelihoods of
farming communities in West Africa. Cargill is investing in, and
supporting, activities to help cocoa farmers improve their
livelihoods by promoting better agricultural practices and
delivering support to rural communities.
The goal of these programmes is to help cooperatives provide their
farmer members with access to better training in agricultural
techniques to help them improve the quality of their cocoa crop and
increase their yields. Training in how to manage their business and
personal finances is also included.
In addition, the programme aims to improve access to healthcare
services for farmers and their families and includes sensitization
about child labor issues and the importance of schooling for
children. In Ivory Coast and Cameroon, for example, 36 family farm
schools have been established to improve education and provide
practical farming skills to adults and children.
Sustainable Palm Oil
Thorntons has registered as a member of GreenPalm which was
incorporated in November 2006 with the aims of promoting certified
sustainable palm oil ; preventing the destruction of the
rainforests ; and supporting the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil
(RSPO). GreenPalm is a certificate trading programme, exclusively
endorsed by the RSPO whereby manufacturers can offset their use of
palm products by paying a producer for an equivalent amount
produced sustainably. This gives producers an incentive to work
sustainably and allows people whose livelihoods depend on palm oil
production to continue making a living.
Our community
We believe in being a good neighbour, so we have a policy of
recruiting from the local community. We also support local
businesses, sourcing many ingredients from UK-based suppliers. Our
staff are keen to help out in the community too, raising money for
charity. For example, we recently raised £22,000 for
Barnardo’s!
Our environment
We’re working hard to reduce our impact on the environment,
so we’ve set up lots of initiatives. These range from
encouraging staff to switch off lights, right through to improving
our chocolate-making machines and making our shops a lot more
energy-efficient.
We’re striving to cut the amount of fuel we use, by driving
more fuel-efficient lorries and cutting down on deliveries. As for
our packaging, we’re reducing the amount we use, phasing out
environmentally unfriendly plastics and sourcing more recyclable
materials from sustainable sources.
Find out more
If you’ve got any questions about any of our policies or
activities, please get in touch and we’ll be happy to
help.
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