"We have been committed to changing lives through Fairtrade products for 30 years..."
Based in Cheshire 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.
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.
Environmental Impact - Local is Best
We are keenly aware of our environmental impact. We only use UK suppliers which are no more than 70 miles from our manufacturing plants. We also maximise the amount of items on lorries to reduce the numbers needed.
Most books are printed in and shipped from China . However, the paper in our books is UK sourced and they are printed in the UK.
Reducing waste and plastic
We have developed mailer boxes which do not require to be double packed and we do not use plastic in our packing. Most of our products are plastic free. Our Real Advent Calendar has 25% less plastic than it did 5 years ago. This saves at least 8 tonnes of plastic and 200 tonnes of card in the next five years.
Palm Oil
All of our chocolate is Palm Oil free which ensures that the environmentally damaging aspects of Palm Oil production have not gone into the making of our chocolate.
Genetically Modified Ingredients
We do not use any Genetically Modified Ingredients in our products.
Fairtrade
All our chocolate is Fairtrade certified. This covers the sugar, cocoa, vanilla and flavourings. If it can be Fairtrade certified we make sure it is. We have operated like this from day one. As well as offering financial benefits to growers, Fairtrade also has environmental standards and audits its growers to make sure they provide safe and sustainable cooperatives.
Cocoa and Sugar Sourcing
Our Fairtrade sugar comes from cooperatives in Paraguay and Belize. Most of our Fairtrade cocoa comes from cooperatives in Ghana (Kuapa Kokoo Co-operative Cocoa Farmers and Marketing Union Limited Ghana). We also source beans from cooperatives in the Dominican Republic, Peru, Panama and Ecuador. Depending on what we are making our chocolate is blended in Belgium, Switzerland or in the UK. It is then moulded and packed in the UK.
Vegan
Our Chunky Buttons are Vegan but not certified as such. Our dark chocolate is Vegan but cannot be certified as dairy free for allergen purposes as it is moulded in a place where milk chocolate has been.
Vegetarian
Apart from milk our chocolate is vegetarian friendly.
Carbon
We offset our carbon emissions through our tree planting scheme. We also offer customers the chance to do this in their purchases.
We are working with Ecologi to plant trees and help build a forest. They support projects across the world and have made incredible environmental contributions to countries such as the UK, Vietnam, Peru, Madagascar, Malawi, Chile, and more. Details can be found here.
Anti Slavery Policy
Please see the policy on this link
Economic partners
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 audit our suppliers
Social
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.
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 tonne to invest in their community’s well-being.
As of January 2024 we have helped raise over £380,000 from sales supporting charitable causes, development and education projects. More details here.