Divine Chocolate speaks at Penn State Brandywine
Amanda White from Divine Chocolate visited the Penn State Brandywine campus on Monday, April 16, 2012. She gave a presentation and engaged in a discussion that lasted more than an hour with the Penn State TrailBlazers (the student organizers for Fair Trade at Penn State Brandywine) and audience participants. Read a summary of her talk through the tweets below!
T-10 minutes until the @DivineChocUSA talk @PSUBrandywine! Come to TMZKO 103 for some #FairTrade talk and delicious chocolate samples!- #DivineChocolate is on campus today @PSUBrandywine! So psyched for free samples :) instagr.am/p/JfJkbVHCpO/
- @divinechocolate is the leading #FairTrade company in the UK and they expanded to USA in 2006!
- "@divinechocolate is really a story of how cocoa farmers who got together to start their own chocolate company" cc @DivineChocUSA #FairTrade
- This co-op in Ghana started w/ 2,000 members in 22 village societies & grew to 60,000 members in 1,200 societies! #FairTrade @DivineChocUSA
- @DivineChocUSA's social mission: improving the lives of cocoa farmers by bringing their organization higher up the “value chain” #FairTrade
- Climbing up the "value chain" means not only more profits, but KNOWLEDGE for the cocoa farmers #FairTrade @DivineChocUSA
- "By owning a branded chocolate company, these farmers have an understanding of the industry..." #FairTrade @DivineChocUSA @divinechocolate
- "...face-to-face communication w/ consumers, retailers, politicians and activists." #FairTrade @DivineChocUSA @divinechocolate
- Farmers get to meet with retailers (like @WholeFoods where @DivineChocUSA is sold!) to understand where their cocoa goes. #FairTrade
- #FairTrade also provides POWER to farmers w/ their own company. Power as an organization & in traceability. @DivineChocUSA @divinechocolate
- Ghana is the #2 producer of cocoa in the world. @DivineChocUSA's pres. & therefore 1 of the most powerful people in the industry is a woman!
- "@divinechocolate in the UK is in a different stage of development. We're still teenagers here!" - Amanda White on @DivineChocUSA #FairTrade
- Q: How do we get involved in #FairTrade? A: As a college student, talk to people who have started a local movement! cc: @DivineChocUSA
- There is a huge amount of energy around pressuring companies to go #FairTrade. Can we help? Make sure companies are abiding by social values
- @GreenAmerica, based in DC, started "Raise the Bar, Hershey" to demand @Hersheys sells #FairTrade chocolate, as now they use child slavery.
- How do farmers get involved in the #FairTrade movement? Lack of knowledge is paralyzing. They need 2 be involved in a co-op, learn about FT!
- Farmers in Sierra Leone have heard about Kuapa Kokoo, & are now interested in #FairTrade themselves. Word spreads! Knowledge is contagious!
- #FairTrade = economics, nonprofit management, international business, women's studies, communications, and more.
- #FairTrade is not just about certification but farmer empowerment, consumer responsibility, running a good business, activism, and...
