Fairtrade Fortnight: A fairer share of the pint!

Ever scooped up a pint of Ben & Jerry’s, and wondered what makes its gooey goodness and euphoric chunks just so … euphoric? 

At Ben & Jerry’s we have a not-so secret ingredient we are always happy to shout about – our Fairtrade ingredients. Because our ingredients are Fairtrade, they make a positive difference for people and planet, a kind of goodness which you can taste in every bite. 

At Ben & Jerry’s, we take fairness seriously. Whether it's how we treat our employees, give back to our community, or dream up new flavours for our customers. Fairness factors into everything that we do. That's why we want to make sure that our farmers get a fair deal too. 

Fairtrade ensures small-scale farmers get a fair slice of the pie through receiving an honest price that never falls below the market value. It is a worldwide movement working to ensure that small-scale farmers in developing nations can make it in the ultra-competitive global marketplace.

As well as this, farmers receive an additional sum of money known as the Fairtrade social premium. This money goes straight to the farmers and their communities in order to help improve their lives and livelihoods in whichever way they see fit.

We already know that we could lose some of our favourite flavours due to climate change,  and that this would have a terrible impact of our farmers. But the good news is, Fairtrade farmers, producers and workers are already working to become more resilient to climate change. 

This is made possible by investing the Fairtrade Premium – that’s the extra money they get from sales of Fairtrade certified crops and products – on projects such as tree planting, irrigation, crop diversification and clean energy. All of these, are more sustainable on a local level but also contribute to the global fight against climate change. Fairtrade farmers and workers decide for themselves how the Premium money is spent, because they are in the best place to know what they need to become more resilient.

Fairtrade puts people first.  It starts with the idea that we have an ethical responsibility to pay everyone in the global economy, especially farmers and farmworkers, fair prices and fair wages for the products they grow, harvest or make. Fair payments allow them to stay on their land, use environmentally responsible practices, invest in their communities, and build a hopeful future.

Ben & Jerry’s is committed to sourcing Fairtrade-certified ingredients wherever we can make an impact on smallholder farmer livelihoods. Our focus is on our five key commodities: sugar, cocoa, coffee, vanilla, and bananas.  We also have opportunities to source Fairtrade-certified nuts. Where possible, we seek to go beyond Fairtrade compliance and support smallholders through programmes build resilient and responsible businesses that create social, economic, and environmental benefits.

If there was ever an excuse to eat Ben & Jerry’s – here it is. By choosing not just Ben & Jerry’s products but buying many different Fairtrade products, like chocolate and tea! You can support change for farmers and workers trying to thrive in tough market conditions and investing in strengthening their businesses and communities for the future. We have the little blue and green symbol on our pints – take a look next time your shopping and see what else you can buy Fairtrade! You can find out more about our partners Fairtrade here.