Why did Dr. Bronner's decide to make chocolate?Updated a year ago

In 2009, Dr. Bronner’s sister company Serendipalm started the world’s first commercial certified organic and Fair Trade palm oil project to supply Dr. Bronner’s and third parties with ethical palm oil. Since then, we’ve supported an estimated 800 farmers in converting conventional palm and cocoa fields in Ghana to regenerative organic agriculture. In keeping with the same goals and methods, in 2020 we also began to work with an organic and Fair Trade women’s cooperative in Ivory Coast that consists of 160 farmers. 

Our work aims to:

• Improve soil fertility and yields for oil palms and cocoa
• Demonstrate and expand the use of mixed dynamic agroforestry (DAF) and cocoa crop maintenance 
• Improve the livelihoods of farmers and the level of food security in their communities.
• Develop value-added markets for those crops that are intercropped with oil palm and cocoa in DAF plots, such as cassava, turmeric, ginger, bananas, avocados, and other fruits.
• Strengthen communities: Dr. Bronner’s has contributed over $1 million to support hundreds of self-directed community projects resulting from the 10% Fair Trade premium that Dr. Bronner’s and, ultimately, our customers pay for Fair Trade raw materials.

The chocolate trade has a well-documented history of causing social and environmental harm. The true cost of chocolate production has been externalized in the name of profit for a few at the expense of many. That cost is paid primarily by cocoa-producing communities, and has led to widespread ecological destruction, climate instability, poverty, worker exploitation, child labor, and even slavery.

Unless we address the root causes of poor farming practices and the extensive use of pesticides, which together result in low cocoa yields and low incomes for farmers and workers, labor exploitation and environmental destruction will only persist. Tackling these issues is at the foundation of Dr. Bronner’s approach. We aim to fulfill chocolate’s promise as an expression of love and seek to elevate it into the pure indulgence it is meant to be.

Our mission is to address the ecological and social issues that afflict the chocolate industry by modeling more sustainable practices in the sourcing and production of Dr. Bronner’s Magic All-One Chocolate.