Green and Blacks the acceptable face of Cadburys?

The acquisition of Green & Black's by Cadbury-Schweppes in 2005 was, and still is, a tricky question for all of us who want to do the right thing in what we buy.

On the positive side Green and Blacks has pioneered and developed a huge range of organic and some Fairtrade products and made them available to a mass market. While it was privately owned, they were clearly a "star" in ethical trading terms.

The downside of the acquisition was two-fold. Now the profits would go to Cadburys – a company who has so far refused to take seriously the environmentally friendly and fair trade aspects of its own supply chains.

We made a decision after the acquisition to wait and see what the impact was.
If we felt that the corporate Cadburys influence was having a negative impact (e.g. dumbing down products etc) on Green & Black's then we would stop selling. However, there was always the chance that influence would go the other way with Green & Black's approaches becoming influential on the whole of Cadburys products.

The evidence to date is neutral in my personal view. There is no perceptible change in Cadbury's corporate practice and Green & Black's's influence on the organisation seems negligible to date. However, there have been some positive outcomes from an ethical product perspective. Green & Black's has more working capital and seasonal products seem especially well resourced – this year's range of Easter eggs, for example, is stunning.

So why are we still selling Green & Black's?

The key factor that tipped us over the edge to maintain the product sales was Green & Black's long term relationship with poor and marginalised cocoa and sugar producers around the world.

It seems very unfair to penalise the fairtrade cocoa producers in Belize just because a corporate board room change in the UK.

We'll keep watching Green & Black's to see what happens. We always appreciate your feedback, so if you want to let us know what you think, leave us a comment below.