Posts in category: Fairtrade

With our World Confectionery Conference just around the corner, we offer an exclusive sneak preview of Fairtrade Foundation’s plans for its keynote presentation at this year’s event in Harrogate Yorkshire, UK.

Editor Neill Barston speaks to Surmaya Talyarkhan (watch the video below) on the organisation’s ongoing work within West Africa and around the world within cocoa supply chains, which remain vitally important to the global confectionery market, and continue to face a raft of issues, from child labour and deforestation, through to the ongoing quest for the sector to deliver a living income to agricultural workers.

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photo by: Courtesy Fairtrade America

A digital rendering shows a planned mural for The Merc building near Ninth and Iowa streets.

News and notes from around town:

• A piece of Honduras soon will be occupying a prominent piece of real estate in Lawrence. Motorists near Ninth and Iowa streets soon will start to see a nearly 100-foot mural emerge on the north wall of The Merc, the co-op grocer that anchors the shopping center at the intersection.

The project is part of a national effort by Fairtrade America to highlight farmers and other producers of products that are sold using fair trade principles. In this case, the mural is of Honduras coffee farmer Joselinda Manueles, who owns her own farm and supplies beans for the Kicking Horse Coffee Brand that The Merc sells at its Lawrence store.

Lawrence is just one of three cities where Fairtrade America is installing a mural this year, joining Philadelphia and Providence, Rhode Island.

A spokeswoman for Fairtrade America — an organization that certifies products and brands as being ethically produced regarding everything from wages paid to workers to environmental impacts of production — said the mural is designed to “honor a shared commitment to cultivating strong relationships with the people behind the food we eat every day.”

It is a statement that soon will be hard to miss. The mural, which received a mural permit from the city earlier this month, will occupy the majority of the grocery store’s north wall. Kansas City artists Isaac Tapia and Rodrigo Alvarez will create the mural, with work scheduled to begin this week and lasting through Sept. 25. The duo, which operates under the name IT-RA Icons, has produced about 60 murals since its founding in 2017, including pieces at the new Kansas City International Airport.

The Merc, via its website, said the mural made a lot of sense for the Lawrence store for multiple reasons. In addition to the store selling products that Manueles grows for, she also helped found a cooperative in Honduras, and she is a big user of solar power. The Merc has one of the larger solar arrays in Lawrence in its parking lot, and Manueles has been using solar power for 30 years to power her farm.

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

Construction work on a three-story min-storage business near McDonald Drive and Princeton Boulevard is shown in September 2023.

• Talk of solar reminded me about last week’s article regarding a proposed solar farm near the Hallmark Cards plant along McDonald Drive. That, in turn, reminded me that there are a couple of other projects underway along McDonald Drive that readers have been asking about.

The first is a large construction project at the corner of McDonald Drive and Princeton Boulevard. Two towers are coming out of the ground on vacant property in front of the Comfort Inn hotel.

That construction is for a very large mini-storage business. I wrote about it briefly in July 2022, but it has taken a while for the project to get to the construction stage. The project calls for a three-story, 76,000-square-foot building that will house 477 storage units, according to the plans on file with the city. The big towers, I believe, are elevator shafts. (Wimps. I got a pool table into a basement without an elevator — and the paramedics didn’t have one to get me out of the basement either.) Look for the business to operate under the Space Saver Storage brand, according to information filed at City Hall.

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

Construction work for a new parking lot for the Army National Guard Center along McDonald Drive is shown in September 2023.

• The second project involves excavation work underway at the Kansas Army National Guard Center that is near the southwest corner of McDonald Drive and Princeton Boulevard. The Army may well do more before 9 a.m. than most of us do all day, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it is is exciting. This project is a case in point. The work underway is for a new parking lot, according to plans on file with the city. The project will add about 30 parking spaces to the facility, which might be a sign that the armory will become more active in the future.

Belgian premium confectionery brand Guylian has been celebrating its 65th anniversary with a special series of Dark Praliné Seashells, as the brand continues to evolve its packaging designs and renewed focus on sustainable sourcing, writes Neill Barston.

Notably, to mark the occasion the business returned to its roots on the country’s coast, cycling from East to West, sharing some of the chocolate joy that the company has brought to its customers around the world (see a special video of the event here).

The very apt 65km journey, included stops in ten different seaside towns, chocolate lovers will have the chance to taste the Original and new Dark Praliné Seashells in the unique seashell shapes as Guy and Liliane created them years ago.

As the company noted, for its fillings, its famous artisanal hazelnut praliné is combined with dark chocolate, consisting of  of 72% cocoa, intensifying the flavour experience. Significantly, the Dark Praliné Seashells, like the Original Seashells, they contain Fairtrade cocoa and 100% naturally sourced ingredients, plus they are also free from palm oil and soy.

Reflecting back on its history, the company noted that it all began as the vision of Guy Foubert. Born 85 years ago,  in Sint-Niklaas, he was destined to join the chocolate business from a young age. Equally sweet as his passion for chocolate was his love for Liliane.

pic: Guylian

After a romantic holiday on the Belgian coast, the engaged couple came up with the idea of creating a chocolate keepsake – which later turned out to be the beginning of Guylian’s iconic chocolate Seashells. Liliane focused on creating eleven exceptional Seashell shapes and devised the unique marbling in different chocolate shades. In turn, Guy worked on the hazelnut praliné filling, which still today provides the unique taste and texture. When the couple exchanged vows in 1958, they also decided to venture into business together. The newlyweds combined their first names to form Guylian and released their Original Seashells under that name, and have continued to export their range to customers across Europe and far beyond.

Travel Retail Global Summit

NotabltBelgian chocolate brand Guylian will present its innovations in the travel retail range at the TFWA World Exhibition & Conference in Cannes, the Duty Free & Travel Retail Global Summit between 1-5 October. With two new premium assortment boxes, namely Les Exclusives (327g) and Belgian Seashells Collection (362g) and the revamped Multi-pack (474g), Guylian meets the specific needs of travellers.

As the company added, siince its rebranding in 2022, the travel retail range can be recognised by its blue-green colour referring to the North Sea – where the founders got their inspiration for chocolate seashells in 1958, the famous Brussels skyline in the background as well as the ‘traveller’s exclusive’ stamp on the packaging.

Sven Adriaenssens, Senior Channel Manager Travel Retail & Duty Free at Guylian, said: “Besides a significant expansion of the Travel Retail range – no less than 15 products today – we have also adapted the packaging to the specific needs of travellers with a clear distinction in weight compared to traditional markets (250g).

Furthermore, the company explained that it had added additional measures increase the recognition of the ranges worldwide in-store, typical elements such as the lighthouse on the Belgian coast and the sea green and warm copper colours can be found everywhere in restyled wall bays, gondolas, lightboxes, podiums and displays.

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It’s a daily ritual. At dusk, 19-year-old Ahwah and her younger sister Saoude make their way along a narrow dirt track toward a stagnant water hole at the bottom of a small valley in southwestern Ghana, not far from the village of Sefwi Camp. The two girls are equipped with gigantic 30-liter jerry cans, which they hastily fill and place on their heads before setting off on a steep hill covered with cacao and frake trees. “This is the water we use for all our needs,” said Ahwah, wincing under the weight of the load that evening.

After a 15-minute walk, they reached their family home, a spartan construction of dried earth with a corrugated metal roof, surrounded by chickens and a few goats. They live here meagerly with their parents, five sisters, and a newborn, away from the farming community. They are almost forgotten, at the bottom of the cocoa production chain controlled by Barry Callebaut, a Swiss company and a world leader in chocolate products with annual sales of around €8 billion.

In the shade of the banana trees, Ahwah’s mother, Salamata, folded up the bamboo mat on which the beans had been drying all day. The life of Ahwah and her family is punctuated by cocoa production, tree care, and pod cutting. “In the morning, after tidying up the house, we prepare the meal before going to the farm. Then we help out wherever we’re asked.”

Salamata was worried. The five hectares of her farm are producing less and less. Aging trees, fungal diseases, and soil impoverishment are particularly affecting Ghana. “This year, I’m only going to be able to produce about ten bags [of cocoa],” she said. For Salamata, it’s a meager harvest.

In 2022, the price of a 62.5-kilo bag was set at 800 cedis, around €68, by Cocobod, the Ghanaian government body responsible for regulating the cocoa market. According to the non-profit group Fairtrade International, this is 42% less than the living wage a producer family should receive to meet its basic needs: Food, water, health, transport, and education.

According to Oxfam, the net income of Ghanaian farmers fell by 16.4% between 2020 and 2022. The 21% increase in the price of cocoa bags “at the edge of the field” decided by Cocobod in 2022 was not enough to offset the effects of Ghana’s inflation (+52% in 2022) and soaring input costs, starting with fertilizers, only some of which are subsidized by the government. “We have received almost no aid to buy fertilizers and not even a premium for our production,” Salamata said.

Living wage

Salamata sells cocoa to Nyonkopa, one of the 27 trading companies licensed in Ghana and owned by Barry Callebaut. The company claims its cocoa supply from Ghana via Nyonkopa is “100% traceable and 100% sustainable.” To sell to Nyonkopa, a farmer needs, in theory, to participate in a sustainability program that enables access to a premium, which many farmers claim amounts to around €1 per bag. Some say they do not receive the payment.

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Over half (54 per cent) of consumers in the UK will stop buying from a company if they were found to have been misleading in their sustainability claims, new research from KPMG has revealed.

KPMG UK surveyed over 2,000 UK adults to better understand their thoughts around green and sustainable products and technologies to understand how they influence decisions, and whether misleading practices, such as greenwashing were having an impact.

The findings highlight that consumers widely recognise greenwashing, with 45 per cent stating they are aware of the term, with words such as fake, lying, exaggerating, dubious, and misleading all commonly used unprompted to explain what the term is.

Seventy-six per cent of respondents agreed that false or misleading claims about the sustainability of specific products were the clearest example of greenwashing.

Other popular examples of what consumers believe to constitute greenwashing are:

• Exaggerated or unsubstantiated sustainability credentials (73 per cent)
• Misleading commitments on net zero (66 per cent)
• Inconsistent ethical policies (60 per cent)
• Missing sustainability targets (39 per cent)

Eighteen per cent are also already voting with their feet and say they have changed their mind about a company due to misleading green claims. This was even more prevalent in the capital where 25 per cent of Londoners say they have done this. Fifty-four per cent stated that they would stop buying products and services from companies found to have greenwashed, with 38 per cent also saying they would stop investing in them.

Customer intentions are good, but awareness is low

Richard Andrews, head of ESG at KPMG in the UK, said: “Companies keen to capitalise on the growing interest in sustainable products, should be taking a measured approach; overselling sustainability credentials risks losing customers as well as the reputational damage that will follow.

“While this might often be unintentional, understanding the data behind any sustainability claims is key, as well as ensuring that data has also been verified if brands are serious about avoiding any greenwashing risks.”

The research highlights that many consumers care about the sustainability of items. Sixty-seven per cent say that they try to seek out green or sustainable options for some of the products and services they buy. However, 33 per cent of respondents said they were sceptical of green labels and sustainability claims, while 28 per cent admitted to struggling to know what products were green or sustainable due to inconsistent labelling.

When asked which sustainability labels consumers recognised, for many awareness remains very low. Established marks like Fairtrade (73 per cent) and Rainforest Alliance Certified (44 per cent) had the greatest awareness among respondents, while initiatives like the carbon reduction label (nine per cent), B Corp (10 per cent) and Better Cotton Initiative (nine per cent) all scored low on consumer awareness.

Guilty of greenwashing?

Consumers see the energy sector (58 per cent) as the most likely to engage in greenwashing, with the fashion industry closely following (57 per cent). However, younger respondents (18 to 24-year-olds) actually deem the fashion industry as the most likely to greenwash (66 per cent) and are slightly more positive about the energy sector (50 per cent). Consumers also think that transport and automotive (51 per cent) and grocery, food and agriculture (47 per cent) are industries likely to greenwash.

Andrews concluded: “The results present a catch-22 situation for both companies and their customers. On the one hand, customers are prepared to stop buying something if it has been linked to greenwashing, but they also admit that they struggle to navigate the labels currently out in the market. Meanwhile, companies are investing time and money verifying their efforts, but awareness of some of the environmental accreditation schemes remains very low.

“What is clear, is that any signs of greenwashing will diminish trust further, so it is imperative that companies continue to ensure all claims can be evidenced and that as new regulations are introduced, they are understood and adhered to. The risks of overselling being ‘greener than green’ are too high.”

Financial services giant KPMG surveyed more than 2,000 UK adults on their attitudes towards green products and technologies.

The poll found that 54% of consumers say they would stop buying from a company if found to have been misleading in its sustainability claims.

Meanwhile, 38% said they would stop investing in the company.

The data, gathered by YouGov, found that almost a fifth of UK shoppers (18%) have changed their mind about a company due to misleading green claims – a response that is more pronounced among Londoners at 25%.

Richard Andrews, head of environmental, social and governance at KPMG in the UK, warned that firms are risking their reputations by sharing misleading information on their sustainability performance.

He said: “Companies keen to capitalise on the growing interest in sustainable products should be taking a measured approach; overselling sustainability credentials risks losing customers as well as the reputational damage that will follow.

“While this might often be unintentional, understanding the data behind any sustainability claims is key, as well as ensuring that data has also been verified, if brands are serious about avoiding any greenwashing risks.”

The research also suggests that two thirds of UK shoppers (67%) say they try to seek out green or sustainable options for some of the products and services they buy.

However, a third (33%) of respondents said they were sceptical of green labels and sustainability claims, while a similar amount – 28% – admitted to struggling to know what products were green or sustainable due to inconsistent labelling.

The data showed that consumers’ awareness is strong for established labels such as Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance certified but awareness around initiatives such as the carbon reduction label, B Corp and the Better Cotton Initiative remains very low.

In terms of sectors, the energy industry (58%) was seen as the most likely to engage in greenwashing, with the fashion industry closely following (57%).

Younger respondents between the ages of 18 to 24 deemed the fashion industry most likely to greenwash at 66%.

Transport and automotive (51%) and grocery, food and agriculture (47%) were also seen as at risk of greenwashing by a large number of consumers, the poll suggests.

Mr Andrews said: “The results present a catch-22 situation for both companies and their customers.

“On the one hand customers are prepared to stop buying something if it has been linked to greenwashing, but they also admit that they struggle to navigate the labels currently out in the market.

“Meanwhile, companies are investing time and money verifying their efforts, but awareness of some of the environmental accreditation schemes remains very low.

“What is clear, is that any signs of greenwashing will diminish trust further, so it is imperative that companies continue to ensure all claims can be evidenced and that as new regulations are introduced, they are understood and adhered to. The risks of overselling being ‘greener than green’ are too high.”

More than half of British consumers claim they would stop buying from a company that was found to have misled customers over its sustainability claims, a poll has revealed.

The research, published by consultancy giant KPMG this morning, tracks the public’s attitudes towards corporate ‘greenwashing’ and broader understanding of green labelling schemes.

The poll of more than 2,000 adults reveals that concern around misleading green claims is already shaping shopping habits, with almost a fifth of those polled admitting they have already changed their opinion of a company due to misleading green claims. This trend was found to be more acute in the capital, where a quarter of Londoners reported having had their views of a brand changed by accusations of ‘greenwash’.

Overall, 54 per cent of those polled said they would stop buying products and services from companies revealed to have overinflated their sustainability credentials.

Richard Andrews, head of ESG at KPMG in the UK, said the findings underscored the critical importance of companies backing up all green marketing and product claims with accurate data.

“Companies keen to capitalise on the growing interest in sustainable products, should be taking a measured approach; overselling sustainability credentials risks losing customers as well as the reputational damage that will follow,” he said. “While this might often be unintentional, understanding the data behind any sustainability claims is key, as well as ensuring that data has also been verified, if brands are serious about avoiding any greenwashing risks.”

The fashion and energy industries were seen to be the sectors most likely to engage in greenwashing, with 57 and 58 per cent of respondents respectively identifying the industries as being most prone to making misleading green claims. A further 51 per cent of participants said they believed the transport and automotive sectors were among those most likely to engage in greenwashing.

Despite mounting concern about greenwash, the research highlights how sustainability remains a major consideration for consumers, with two-thirds of participants noting that they tried to seek out green or sustainable options when selecting products and services.

However, a third of respondents said they were sceptical of green labels and sustainability claims, while a similar proportion admitted to struggling to know what products were green or sustainable due to inconsistent labelling.

Awareness of sustainability labels was found to be mixed. While just under three quarters of those polled recognised Fairtrade mark, this percentage dropped to 44 per cent for Rainforest Alliance Certified label. Meanwhile, less than 10 per cent of respondents said they recognised initiatives like the Carbon Reduction Label, B Corp, and Better Cotton Initiative.

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