Ben and Jerry’s. An American staple. The infamous duo has forever changed how we look at ice cream, and they continue to reshape the dessert game almost 40 years later. But that’s not all! They have played their part in reshaping the social world, for the better. Ben and Jerry’s strong belief in social activism has helped countless causes. They have a three-part mission that extends farther than just their ice cream shops.
Aside from making amazing ice cream, Ben and Jerry’s strives to grow financially in a substantial fashion that benefits all their employees, from the farmer to the scooper. The third part of the mission relies on their social conscience to make the world a better place.
1. Supporting Mandatory GMO labeling
With the current consumer trend, Ben and Jerry’s wants to give consumers transparency and to protect their right to know what’s in their food, how ingredients are made, and what contains GMO’s. They even helped Vermont become the first state to pass a labeling law, providing information about which ingredients contain GMO’s.
2. Supporting Climate Justice
As a very active participant in the fight to protect the Earth’s climate, Ben and Jerry’s generated a large amount of support for the Climate March. With clever ice cream slogans –If it’s melted. It’s ruined–and visuals, they captured the attention of many people.
3. Supporting Same Sex Marriage
In their Australia shops, Ben and Jerry’s banned having two scoops of the same flavor until Australia allows for same-sex marriage. They also urged customers and fans to sign a petition to members of Parliament.
4. Creating a flavor to support Democracy
This ice cream flavor shows how dedicated Ben and Jerry’s is to giving the power to the people. Democracy and equal participation in government are core values of the company. They strive to promote “By the people, not buy the people.”
5. Promoting inclusion and hope
This ice cream flavor partnered with, and helps fund an organization “HOPE,” that runs various projects to bring a more inclusive community. One Sweet World was an ice cream flavor dedicated to HOPE in their European Market.
6. Using Fair Trade ingredients
Ben and Jerry’s believes in equality in their business ventures, as well. Their sources of bananas, vanilla, cocoa, sugar, and coffee are all Fair Trade certified, which means small-scale farmers get great access to large companies like Ben and Jerry’s. It’s a win for the farmers and local vendors, and a win for a huge organization.
7. Promoting being an active citizen
As active participants in the government, Ben and Jerry’s supports the act of voting not just in national elections, but they stress the importance of voting in local elections. They teamed up with HeadCount, an organization that works to encourage and boost voter participation because they both believe that the power should be in the peoples’ hands, not big businesses.
8. Supporting Social Enterprises
New York’s Greyston Bakery whips up all the brownies used in Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. The bakery provides equal opportunity jobs regardless of the person’s background or prior work experience. They strive to be leading social justice pioneers whom Ben and Jerry’s proudly stands behind.
9. Putting Democracy Before Themselves
Ben and Jerry were arrested at the Democracy Awakening protests in support of taking down big money interests and corporations so that justice can be accessible to all. Talk about selfless.
10. Speaking Out Against President Trump’s Travel Ban
After Trump signed an Excuctive Order banning travel from six predominantly Muslim countries, Ben and Jerry’s took a stand to show that they are welcoming everyone with open arms.
11. Peace, Love, Ice Cream
This tribute to Bob Marley carries on his legancy of promoting love, unity, and social justice. The ice cream has fudge peace signs swirled in it to remind everyone to do what Ben and Jerry’s would (#WWB&JD).
So clearly, they do more than just create amazing ice cream. This list is not all-inclusive by any means. This is just a few examples of when Ben and Jerry’s has stood up for what they believe in, and thus, made a difference in our world.