Why Fairtrade Chocolate Is Important

Who doesn’t love chocolate? Cocoa is the plant behind one of the world’s most beloved snacks. While you may love this sweet treat, you may not realize that the people who grow cocoa are typically faced with unfavorable conditions. How can you help? Consider buying fairtrade chocolate in order to help put the livelihood of cocoa farmers at the heart of the chocolate industry. These three leading countries producing organic fairtrade chocolate are must visit destinations. 

What Is Fairtrade Chocolate?

Before being turned into delicious chocolate bars, cocoa pods are carefully harvested by hand. It’s a meticulous process and it’s very labor intensive for cocoa farmers. Fairtrade chocolate aims to improve the lives of farmers. Many cocoa farmers struggle to make a living and fairtrade chocolate is putting an end to widespread poverty and child labor. When you purchase organic fairtrade chocolate, the business selling it pays into a Community Development Fund. These funds go directly back to the farmers, who as a community decided how the money is spent. They also help the farmer groups to negotiate better prices on their fairtrade chocolate. You can find out more about fairtrade here. 

Why Should You Buy Fairtrade Chocolate?

Fairtrade chocolate aims to address social, environmental, and economical challenges. When purchasing fair trade chocolate make sure to look for the Fairtrade certification as well as the Rainforest Alliance certification. The Rainforest Alliance has a mission to create a more sustainable world through improving the lives of farmers and cutting down on deforestation. The main focus for Fairtrade is that fair wages are earned by the cocoa farmers, this also increases organic fairtrade chocolate production. 

These three countries are leading producers in fairtrade chocolate and each offers some great options in terms of fairtrade products to purchase and ecotours. 

Côte d’Ivoire – West Africa

Côte d’Ivoire is the world’s largest producer of cocoa, however, deforestation in the country, due to the production of cocoa, has become a problem. Fairtrade chocolate has brought sustainable practices, including the decline of deforestation to this area in West Africa. Fairtrade practices have also brought fair wages to the farmers of Côte d’Ivoire. The top producer of fairtrade chocolate in the region is Cayat. 

You can take a chocolate farm tour while in Côte d’Ivoire, check out the Land Of Cocoa Tour. On this tour you’ll visit the heart of the organic fairtrade coffee production in Côte d’Ivoire. On tour you’ll learn about the processing unit of chocolate cocoa beans and so much more. Your guide will also teach you about the sustainable practices used here, and about the decline of deforestation.

Indonesia 

Indonesia is the only non African country of the top 5 cocoa producing countries in the world. In southwest Asia, Indonesia’s tropical climate is perfect for cocoa bean cultivation and production.  Krakakoa is one the leading organic fairtrade chocolate producers in all of Indonesia. You can find out more about Krakakoa and their sustainable practices here. The organic fairtrade coffee produced here only uses sustainable farming practices that have very little environmental impacts. 

Take a tour of Cua Factory and Farm located in Tabanan, Indonesia. This chocolate farm offers informational tours in a beautiful setting. You’ll get to see the cocoa plants, as well as learn about the chocolate making process from start to finish. The tour will show you each step of the process and you even get to taste the cocoa beans and plants at each stage. Find out more about the tour here. 

Costa Rica

Costa Rica’s tropical climate is perfect for growing cocoa beans. In fact, Costa Rica is known for producing some of the highest quality organic fairtrade chocolate in the world. Nahua is Costa Rica’s leading brand of fine artisan chocolate. The company works directly with the local farming community to ensure fair wages, and as a part of Costa Rica’s Cocoa Renovation Program, they are trying to make a sustainable difference in the world. This fairtrade chocolate company is committed to making a difference. 

Take the Choco Tour Costa Rica for a unique chocolate experience. On this 90 minute adventure you will learn about the cultural heritage of cocoa. You’ll get to learn about the sustainable practices of the chocolate farms of Costa Rica. And as an added bonus you’ll also get to sample different ancient drinks and make your own coffee creations.  


Switching to fairtrade chocolate may seem like a small change, but it has quite a large impact on many things. Fair wages for organic fairtrade chocolate farmers, less deforestation, and more sustainability are just a few of the many positive factors of choosing fairtrade chocolate. Do yourself a favor and go pick up some fairtrade chocolate for a delicious sweet treat!

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