Aldi to switch to fully sustainable cocoa by end of 2018

Aldi has committed to switching to 100% sustainable cocoa for its own-brand products in the UK and Ireland by the end of the year.

The discounter said it was working to ensure own-brand cocoa was sourced only from Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance or UTZ-certified farms.

The pledge follows similar commitments from Lidl and Co-op last year.

Aldi UK and Ireland said the measure applied to more than 600 products including the discounter’s core range of Moser Roth chocolate, which would contain only Fairtrade-certified cocoa.

It would also include products containing cocoa as a secondary ingredient, such as yoghurts and biscuits, it said.

“Our customers trust us to do the right thing, and that’s why we’re always seeking ways to source even more sustainable products that are fair to the environment as well as to our suppliers,” said Aldi UK MD of corporate buying Julie Ashfield.

“We sell more than 10,000 tonnes of cocoa in the UK and Ireland each year, which shows the huge positive potential of this change and, having already converted more than half of our products, we are working in close partnership with our long-term suppliers towards our shared goal.”

The announcement came during Fairtrade Fortnight.

“With Fairtrade Fortnight in full swing we are delighted Aldi has announced their commitment to sourcing 100% sustainable cocoa by 2018,” said Fairtrade Foundation commercial director Euan Venters.

“We work closely with partners, like Aldi, supporting them to source more on Fairtrade terms, helping more famers and producers in developing nations get a fair deal for their work. During this year’s Fairtrade Fortnight we are inviting the British public to ‘come on in’ to Fairtrade and learn more about the people who produce the things we love to eat, drink, and wear.”

Aldi switched to 100% sustainable palm oil in food products in 2015 and 100% sustainable bananas in 2016.

This week the discounter also announced it would make all plastic packaging on own-brand products recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2022 and stop selling 5p plastic carrier bags by the end of the year.