Valentine’s Day can be controversial. But you know what’s not controversial? Chocolate. Chocolate is amazing. It brings joy to millions of people across the globe, everyday. Not to be overdramatic, but chocolate may be one of the great loves of my life. I’m not currently experiencing romantic love, but my love for chocolate is stronger than ever, and I plan on celebrating it in style this Valentine’s Day (by eating lots of chocolate, obviously).
So as a die-hard chocolate lover, I was pretty bummed out to learn that a lot of chocolate is produced in unethical ways. Major problems include child labor, lack of fair pay for workers, and deforestation. John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight on the problems with the chocolate industry explains these issues more in depth, and is slightly less of a bummer due to his delightful British accent. It’s not fun to talk about, I know, but knowledge is power.
What is ethical chocolate?
The good news is, there are many wonderful chocolate brands working to produce delicious, ethical, and sustainable chocolate you can feel good purchasing (and eating). And while it’s impossible to completely monitor the supply chain and guarantee 100% ethical chocolate, there are many different organizations working to create transparency for chocolate consumers and hold chocolate producers accountable, including The Chocolate Scorecard and Slave Free Chocolate.
For your chocolate-consumption convenience, here’s a few of the best ethical chocolate brands, plus all the info on their lovely Valentine’s Day (and Galentine’s Day) treats.
1. Tony’s Chocolonely
Tony’s Chocolonely is working towards a 100% slave free chocolate industry. Its five sourcing principles include building strong long-term relationships with farmers, paying all workers a liveable wage, only buying traceable beans, and investing in agricultural knowledge. Fun(ish) fact: the unevenly sized chunks in Tony’s chocolate bars are meant to represent the unequal division of profits in the chocolate industry. I actually really like the unequal chunks because squares are really boring, but it also sends a powerful message.
Tony’s Chocolonely comes in a wide variety of unique and delicious flavors which you can pick up at your local supermarket, but if you want to go above and beyond there is adorable custom Valentine’s Day and Galentine’s Day bars available for purchase on its website. I don’t know about you, but if someone got me a custom Valentine’s Day chocolate bar I’d fall in love all over again.
2. Endangered Species Chocolate
Endangered Species has produced sustainable, fair trade, palm-oil free chocolate for 30 years. And true to its name, the brand donates 10% of its profits to wildlife conservation charities. Endangered Species Valentine’s Day range includes the incredibly adorable “Be Mine Mix,” consisting of heart, koala, and grizzly bear shapes in both milk and dark chocolate. Who doesn’t want to eat a chocolate koala?
3. Divine Chocolate
Divine Chocolate works directly with cocoa growers in a “bean to bar” approach, meaning it can trace every cocoa bean back to the farm where it was produced. It is co-owned by a cooperative of Ghanaian cocoa farmers who work to build gender equality in the cocoa industry by supporting women farmers in Ghana and São Tomé. Divine’s Valentine’s Day offerings include dark chocolate and milk chocolate lovers gift sets and a white chocolate with strawberries bar to satisfy chocolate lovers of all stripes (I’m a dark chocolate girl if I have to choose, but luckily I don’t have to choose).
4. Alter Eco
I’m a longtime fan of Alter Eco’s delectable truffles, so I was delighted to learn that its products are super sustainable. The brand works with cacao growers to adopt regenerative farming practices and offset 100% of its carbon emissions through protecting and planting forests. All of Alter Eco’s organic, fair trade products are delicious, but I’m particularly excited to try the new Truffle Thins, and you cannot go wrong with the classic Salted Caramel Truffles.