Pip & Nut, a nut butter and snack business, has joined Tony’s Open Chain initiative, a sustainability strategy in which members pledge to source cocoa from suppliers who adhere to high human rights and ethical standards. They will be joining 15 other businesses already in Tony’s Open Chain, including Ben & Jerry’s, Huel, and Waitrose & Partners.
About Tony’s Open Chain initiative
Tony’s Chocolonely is a B-Corp and Fairtrade-certified company experiencing rapid growth. Their mission is to make 100 percent slave free the norm in the chocolate industry. Tony’s Open Chain sourcing rules provide direction for sourcing beans from known partner co-operatives and farmers that exchange human rights data and record it on a digital platform.
Farms are mapping using GPS and logged on the International Cocoa Initiative’s digital systems recording child labour. Additionally, data must also be provided on worker pay and whether this equates to a living wage. The initiative provides additional, longer-term guidance on collaboration to enhance transparency and foster long-term partnerships centred on helping cocoa communities flourish.
Pip & Nut’s progress and inspiration to join the initiative
Pip & Nut has already begun implementing these practices in its almond supply chain. Currently, the brand sources all of its almonds through the Californian Almond Stewardship Programme.
This programme supports farmers in improving water efficiency, boosting biodiversity, and reducing waste. All of its peanut suppliers are accredited by the UK’s Food Standards Agency. The brand was inspired to take this collaborative step as it recognised that as a B-Corp, they have a crucial role to play in championing sustainable and ethical sourcing across its supply chain.
In terms of their approach, they are starting with their biggest and most used ingredients (nuts). Pip & Nut has become one of only four participants in the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform, which strives to lower greenhouse gas emissions and protect against climate change and drought through regenerative agriculture.
The business has said joining Tony’s Open Chain was a natural next step, and they are proud to be the first UK snack brand to become a Mission Ally. They hope that through this collaborative milestone, they can establish long-term partnerships with their cocoa suppliers and work to create a more ethical, fairer sector.
Inequality in the chocolate industry
While chocolate is a beloved treat across the globe, child labour, slavery, and inequality are significant problems associated with this industry. Research from Oxfam reports that around 90 percent of cocoa farmers in low-income countries like the Ivory Coast and Ghana do not currently earn a living wage. These two areas account for over 60 percent of the world’s cocoa production.
The cocoa farmers receive an average of 6 percent of the profits from each chocolate bar sold in the Global North. This puts them at risk of malnutrition, the pressure to enrol children in work to earn an adequate income, and a lack of access to education. Moreover, children and individuals working on cocoa farms are often subjected to hard labour and dangerous working conditions.
Conclusion
In a world where the simple pleasure of chocolate often comes at a significant human cost, Pip & Nut’s commitment to Tony’s Chocolonely’s Open Chain initiative is a powerful reminder that businesses have the ability and the responsibility to drive change. By joining forces with like-minded brands, they are challenging the status quo, pushing for a future where fairness, transparency, and ethical practices are the norm, not the exception.
This bold move is a call to action for everyone, whether businesses or consumers, to reconsider the real cost of what we consume and to demand a system that uplifts the people who make our favourite treats possible. Pip & Nut’s journey is just beginning, but it offers hope for a future where every bite we take contributes to a fairer, more just world.
