By Theyo Team
It is particularly important to us at Theyo to act as transparently as possible. We not only want to provide you with excellent chocolate, but also to tell the stories and connections behind it. That's why we'll explain to you below what we mean by fairstainability and direct trade in the context of chocolate.
Fair stability
Fairly stable? You may know this neologism from einhorn , the condom and period article manufacturer from Berlin. Because we like the word and, above all, the meaning behind it so much, we simply borrow Fairstainable . 😇 And this is what distinguishes 'Theyo- Fairstainability : We attach great importance to the fact that all of our chocolate products are produced under socially and ecologically fair conditions. It starts on the cocoa plantations: safe working conditions, fair wages, no (child) slavery, exploitation or discrimination. All of these important points can only be ensured if we pay appropriate prices for the cocoa and are in direct contact with farmers and cooperatives.
We don't want to act at the expense of other people - nor at the expense of the environment. This is the “sustainability” in fairstainability . Cocoa farms are great for the climate because they are home to different trees that together bind CO2 and produce oxygen. We see it as our responsibility to make chocolate production as climate-friendly as possible - and to let the trees do their part. For example, our partners are encouraged to minimize their water consumption and avoid pesticides. When selecting our partner farms, we are impressed by sustainable cultivation concepts such as permaculture. By the way, you can find out more about biodiversity – and how chocolate can make a positive contribution – here .
In summary, let’s borrow Einhorn’s words again. "We want to take responsibility and not be part of the problem, but rather the solution!"
Direct trade chocolate
The chocolate supply chain is complicated. It usually extends across several continents and takes detours through many different actors. Things are different with Theyo! We rely on direct trade – not only for our own products, but also for those of our partners and makers. Direct trade, which means that you buy the fermented and dried cocoa beans directly from farmers or cooperatives. What's special about it? Normally, middlemen are involved who buy huge quantities of cocoa from different farms and then ship them. Not only is the traceability of the origin lost, but also the security that farmers are adequately compensated for the cocoa. For this reason, we rely on as few intermediate steps as possible and buy cocoa as directly as we can. Not always from the farmers personally, as they have to concentrate on cultivation and harvesting, but also from small cooperatives.
Direct Trade enables traceable trading chains, high quality and stable prices. For us the basis for long-term partnerships and for security: planning security for farmers, and for us and you the security of getting the best cocoa for the best cool beans . If you would like to read more about direct trade , take a look at our texts on the individual regions of origin. Here you can find out more about our Cool Beans organic cocoa beans from the Dominican Republic. And here about the Cocoa Kamili cooperative , whose cocoa beans are used by Svenska Kakaobolaget, among others.
Of course, you can find more directly traded and sustainably grown chocolate here .
FAQ on direct trade and chocolate
What does Fairtrade mean for chocolate?
Fairtrade is a label that producers can acquire by meeting certain standards of the label. You can find out more about the topic and why the seal can be criticized in this article .
Which chocolate is Fairtrade?
If by "Fairtrade" you mean fair trade and not the seal, that unfortunately means that you have to look closely at chocolate. We think that only bean-to-bar production of chocolate guarantees truly fair production. You can find out more about the topic in this article, among others: Really fair chocolate .
What is the difference between Fairtrade and regular chocolate?
“Normal chocolate”, i.e. cheap supermarket chocolate, usually comes from cocoa farms that grow monocultures and pay their workers extremely low wages. Sometimes children also work on such farms. This is obviously bad, both environmentally and socially. Fair trade chocolate, on the other hand, is ideally produced in conjunction with ecological conditions and with fair wages being paid.
Which chocolate is child labor free?
Take a look at our shop ! All chocolate producers whose chocolates we sell produce according to the bean-to-bar principle and pay their (of age!) workers fair wages.
