So, here’s the thing. We’re working our beans off to end modern slavery and illegal child labor in the chocolate industry. We do it by using Tony’s 5 Sourcing Principles to take direct responsibility for our supply chain and ending exploitation and poverty at the root of chocolate’s bitter truth. But change needs to happen on a big scale. And it needs to happen now. Only when all chocolate-making companies work together, we can make all chocolate 100% slave free. Cue Tony’s Open Chain.. the newly upgraded initiative to get more companies on board the mission.
So, what exactly is Tony’s Open Chain?
Is it a platform? Is it a program? No, it’s an initiative. And — as the name suggests — Tony’s Open Chain is all about openness and collaboration to end exploitation in the cocoa supply chain. Joining forces with other chocolate-making companies to change the sector and making sure we each take responsibility for our supply chains.
Tony’s Open Chain brings human rights and sustainability issues into the open so they can be solved. It offers a practical framework for fair cocoa sourcing practices following Tony’s 5 Sourcing Principles: using 100% traceable cocoa beans, paying a higher price, supporting strong farmers by strengthening cooperatives, engaging in long-term direct partnerships, and focusing on cocoa quality and productivity to optimise yields.
It’s no longer new, but it is improved
Since Tony’s Open Chain was launched in March 2019, we’ve scaled it up and made it even easier to join and to source for all types of chocolate. A plug-and-play set-up allows new mission allies across the globe to onboarding in just a couple of months and become sustainability frontrunners by the next cocoa season. And with the addition of 100% traceable cocoa butter to the sourcing mix, white chocolate can now be produced as fairly as dark and milk chocolate. Added bonus, by sourcing cocoa butter through Tony’s Open Chain, the bean volume demand has almost tripled in 2020/2021, and more beans means more impact for cocoa farmers.
An open invitation to new mission allies
Mission allies is the name we give to chocolate-makers who join Tony’s Open Chain so that together we can make 100% slave free the norm in chocolate. Illegal child labor and modern slavery are the chocolate industry’s bitter truth. And we’re inviting more chocolate makers to become part of the sweet solution. Leading Dutch supermarket chain Albert Heijn is already on board, and they’ve just completed the transformation of their entire Delicata range supply chain. In the coming months, two big names in Germany will be joining Tony’s Open Chain.
To find out more about how chocolate-making companies can join in to change the norm in the industry, visit www.tonysopenchain.com
