At Ben & Jerry’s, we believe in using the power of our day-to-day business decisions to help drive social change. One decision we make just about every day is how and where to buy the ingredients we use to make our ice cream.

Besides their great taste, there’s a reason why our coffee, vanilla, and chocolate ice creams are particularly powerful. They’re made with cocoa powder, coffee and vanilla extracts that are Fair Trade Certified. And we think Fair Trade Certified goods and ingredients have the power to make a really big difference in the lives of people who produce them.

Fair Trade Certified guarantees a fair deal for the farmers who grow the vanilla, cocoa, and coffee that are made into ingredients for our ice cream. When you buy Fair Trade Certified products you know that the farmers are receiving a fair price for their harvest in addition to many other benefits.

That’s important because in developing countries around the world, conventional trading structures often support a chain of inequities. Raw products are bought cheaply, sometimes even below the cost of production, then work their way through the supply chain and are eventually sold as processed goods (such as vanilla extract, cocoa powder, or coffee extract). With this model, the majority of profits are generated outside the country of origin, with little direct benefit to the lives of local producers.

We pay our suppliers a premium for these quality ingredients and they work to help the farmer associations, providing them with credit & financing arrangements, along with long-term buying contracts and technical assistance. Of course, the best thing we can do to help these farmer associations plan for sustainability is to help provide a market for their harvests. We believe that helping to support these farmer associations will go a long way toward creating positive change. With economic independence and empowerment come new opportunities for education, healthcare, housing, employment, and the tools with which to sustain healthy communities and farms.

We are proud to be part of the global movement that’s helping to grow a market for Fair Trade Certified ingredients and products. As a consumer of Ben & Jerry’s Vanilla, Chocolate, and Coffee ice cream you too are helping to support a better quality of life for farmers in developing countries.

Look for the Fair Trade Certified logo on the following Ben & Jerry’s ice cream products:

Vanilla — Our smooth vanilla pints, quarts, and mini cups are now made with Fair Trade Certified Vanilla extract. You can also find Fair Trade Certified Vanilla at your local Scoop Shop.

Chocolate — Our smooth chocolate pints are now made with Fair Trade Certified Cocoa Powder. You can also find Fair Trade Certified Chocolate at your local Scoop Shop.

Coffee — Our smooth coffee, and our other coffee flavors (Coffee HEATH® Bar Crunch and CoffeeCoffeeBuzzBuzzBuzz®) are made with Fair Trade Certified coffee extract.

To learn more about Fair Trade Certified and products you can buy that carry the Fair Trade Certified label visit www.FairTradeCertified.org. For more good news about other ingredients we buy in socially responsible way, visit our Values Led Sourcing page.