About us
"We have been committed to changing lives through Fairtrade products for 30 years..."
Based just outside in the village of Lymm, we make the UK's favourite Fairtrade Easter egg and the UK's only charity Fairtrade Advent calendar. Our chocolate factory network also makes other seasonal goods and a range of chocolate bars.
We are a privately owned British company with two shareholders and a small team of committed staff who work out of our Cheshire office. We pay well over the minimum wage and we pay all our taxes in the UK.
We have thousands of customers who buy our products and also support our work.
You can read about our Ethical Values here.
In the Victorian era hundreds of Quaker families were key players in the UK economy. Barclays, Lloyds, Cadbury, Rowntree and the Lever Brothers believed in fairness for their workers and quality products. We aim to rediscover a business tradition that brings together our passion for justice (Fairtrade) and inventive products.
We are an accredited Fairtrade company and are registered with the FLO, the international Fairtrade body and The Fairtrade Foundation. All the products we make are Fairtrade certified.
We were founded at Waulk Mill, in a part of Manchester known as Ancoats-Little Italy. Waulk Mill sits next to the Rochdale Canal and was part of Murrays' Mills complex, which was one of the largest cotton-spinning firms in the world, employing around 1000 people at its height. Our building was used for doubling - the process of combining two or more lengths of yarn into a single thread. Today Murrays' Mill is the world's oldest surviving steam-powered urban cotton mill.
Fairtrade
All of our products are Fairtrade certified which means the Fairtrade farmers receive a fair price for their produce. Fairtrade farmers also receive a Fairtrade Premium to invest in improving their communities with everything from buying school books to solar panels and providing fresh water. For more information about Fairtrade please visit the Fairtrade Foundation here.
We are proud to be part of the ethical trading community.
Products
We manufacture using only the finest quality fairly traded chocolate while promoting business practices that respect the environment and dignity of others. We do not use palm oil in our chocolate.
Our packaging is made from recycled content and is also recyclable. Our products use as little packaging as possible and we avoid the use of plastic. We seek to reduce greenhouse gasses, minimising the use of road transport. We recycle our own waste and use fairly traded products in our own business.
Economic
We have been committed to changing lives through Fairtrade products for 30 years. Our founder began supporting the concept back in 1993. The Meaningful Chocolate Company was funded in 2010 as a direct response to this commitment.
We seek to achieve sustainable financial profitable growth, increasing value for stakeholders and expanding opportunities for our employees.
We insist that all our financial, legal, creative and manufacturing partners have made a visible commitment to using fairly traded products where they can.
We are an equal opportunity employer that welcomes diversity and are dedicated to the policy of non-discrimination in employment on any basis including gender, race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, age or physical ability.
Social
We seek to be a responsible company that works to serve and promote the common good. A big chunk of our profits are given to registered charities that have a social good at their heart. We support the promotion of healthy lifestyles.
We are a registered and accredited Fairtrade company with the Fairtrade Foundation and FLO. Through the Fairtrade Foundation and our suppliers and business associates, we support education programmes.
Charities and Projects
A big chunk of our profits are given to registered charities that have a social good at their heart.
We pay a percentage of our production costs to the Fairtrade Foundation to support their work and education promotions.
Our farmers receive a guaranteed price for their cocoa and sugar as well as a Fairtrade Growers' Premium of $500 a tonn to invest in their community’s well-being.