Over the past few years, people have become more and more aware of how exactly products are created and by whom. Believe it or not, many countries that produce goods such as coffee, sugar, toys, and even chocolate are using trade and employment practices that most of us in developed nations would consider deplorable. Chocolate is only recently garnering a lot of public attention in the area of free trade and there have been some news stories about cocoa farms on popular television shows such as 20/20 and Dateline. Some of the cocoa farms on these programs show people of all ages working extremely hard for an annual income of less than $200.

When you buy fair trade chocolate, you are ensuring that the people producing the cocoa needed to create that chocolate are being paid a standard rate for every metric ton they produce. The current rate is a little under $2000 for each metric ton produced. That’s not only a good price but it gives the entire area around the cocoa farms a significant economic boost. The farmers are paid an actual living wage and many of them work together in co-ops to increase total production. The best part of the co-ops is they usually set aside a certain percentage of their sales to improve the local community. More schools get built, better health care becomes available, and the farmers and their children get better equipment and training to become more efficient. Improved efficiency and education leads to more productivity and can encourage the farmers to use totally organic agricultural methods.

It can be difficult to find chocolate that bears the “free trade certified” insignia and for many years, organic and whole food stores were the only places that carried it. Since people are leaning more and more toward organic and fair trade products, you can usually find free trade chocolate in the candy aisle of your local supermarket. Some big names in the chocolate business such as Cadbury have gone almost exclusively fair trade.

When you buy free trade chocolate, you are making a difference in someone’s life no matter if they live in Africa or South America. You should feel a little bit better about yourself as you bite into that delicious chocolate knowing you have done a little bit of good in the world.