3/22/12

Enjoy a Guilt-Free Easter with Fairtrade,Vegan & Organic Easter Eggs (& Other Chocolate Treats!)


Whether or not you observe Easter in the religious sense, it’s a time of great temptation when it comes to chocolate. They say that the best way to deal with temptation is to give in to it!

If you’re concerned about human rights, animal rights and the environment but love your chocolate, look no further. There are many yummy options you can eat with a clear conscience. And those with dairy and gluten allergies don't have to miss out either.

Organic, Fairtrade, vegan, gluten-free chocolate is a reality!


Below are some examples of the Easter offerings produced by companies with a conscience. Some address all the concerns above, while others address exclusively vegan and fair trade concerns. Many but not all use organic chocolate.


Some companies sell chocolate online and through retail outlets while others sell through bricks-and-mortar stores only - stockist information can be found on the websites.


(Some of the companies that 
don’t produce vegan chocolate do produce dark chocolate products that are made without dairy products. However, these products may contain traces of dairy in the production process and also animal products such as honey in glazes. Vegan products in contrast are specified to have no traces of animal products.)



This dark chocolate Easter egg is from Oxfam’s range of Fairtrade Easter goodies available in Australia. The Fairtrade chocolate used in the range is handmade, free from child labour and helps families in developing communities.The range includes organic chocolate but isn’t vegan.

These products helps producers and communities in countries like Dominican Republic, Ghana, Peru, Paraguay and India through improved market access and stable and regular income.

Oxfam also has loads of Easter ideas in unwrapped cards; handmade soft rabbits; and re-usable paper mache keepsake boxes, some with luxury handmade Belgium Fairtrade chocolate buttons and eggs inside.



This cute little bunny is totally dairy free, organic and Fairtrade into the bargain! It’s from the vegan range of Sjaaks, a  US family company that, according to its website, is committed to organics and fair trade. Sjaaks also produces a Fairtrade vegan range of Easter eggs. 

Sjaaks is based in California. Its creator brought his confectionary skills from his native Holland when he migrated to the US. The company sells its chocolates online and they're also sold in some US retail stores, but unfortunately appear to be available in the domestic US market only.

Plush 
This UK company is committed to fair trade, which means that all its products are Fairtrade certified. Plush sources its chocolate and sugar from five different Fairtrade locations, and there’s info on the website about them. The company's Easter offerings include a milk chocolate strawberry drizzle egg and packets of solid Belgian chocolate eggs.

If you’re in the UK you can buy Easter eggs straight from the website, or there’s an extensive stockist list that includes bricks-and mortar retailers and other online stockists. Orders from outside the UK can be taken but they must be made manually.

Some of Plush’s products use organic chocolate but I couldn’t find any dairy-free ones. The company packages its chocolate in handmade, fairly traded gift boxes, and reusable and recyclable boxes.


This US company specialises in vegan chocolate that is also gluten free, nut free and egg free (but unfortunately not Fairtrade). According to its website, it has pioneered the creation of artisan chocolates that mimic milk chocolate. The company is based in New Jersey but ships to more than 20 countries. Its Easter range includes mini eggs such as those pictured, larger eggs, and Easter bunnies in various sizes.




This Australian company creates artisan, handmade chocolates that are vegan and also suitable for those with lactose, gluten and dairy allergies. Unfortunately these chocolates aren’t Fairtrade or organic, which is a shame because the handmade chocolate above looks incredibly delectable. 

Constant Craving produces a  giant Easter egg (pictured at top) reminiscent of the Easter eggs I would keep going for weeks as a child, carefully breaking off a few pieces to eat each a day while the remainder got stale in my desk drawer! Chocolates can be ordered online and shipped to anywhere in Australia, and there’s also a list of stockists on the website.


I couldn’t find any Easter eggs on this company’s site but had to include it because it sounded so interesting and ticked all the boxes, including sugar free!

Loving Earth chocolate is raw organic. The company offers a vegan range with some truly adventurous flavours. Not all of its products are certified fair trade, but it uses its own form of fair trade certification and says that fair trade principles govern all its dealings with growers. There’s plenty of information on the website about the growers, including a ‘Grower information’ link for each product.

Loving Earth creates a number of innovative products, combining raw organic chocolate with fruit extracts, corn, exotic spices and nuts to create what sound like amazing flavours. Pictured is the sour cherry raw chocolate bar, which is fair trade, vegan, organic, gluten-free, sugar-free and sweetened with organic agave syrup!

Loving Earth is based in Campbellfield in Melbourne, Australia. Goods can be shipped all over Australia as well as internationally. If you’re in the area you can pick up the produce from the warehouse if you call ahead.

The company’s commitment to organic products and nutritional production methods extends to ‘activating’ its organic almonds to retain nutrition - you can read more about this on the website.



Certified Fairtrade and organic with a large vegan range, this high-quality chocolate is  manufactured in Australia but at this point the company doesn't seem to produce Easter eggs. There's a list of stockists on the website, mainly confined to Victoria but including NSW and Tasmania.


Cocola is a Swiss chocolate available in Australia. (Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to produce Easter eggs either). It’s Fairtrade, organic and free of cane sugar but not vegan (organic milk powder is used) It's also gluten and soy free. The dark chocolate products are made without milk solids but may contain traces of dairy. 

Cocola products are available in bricks-and-mortar stores in most Australian states - contacts for information on stockists are included on the website.




Green & Black’s is a large organic chocolate company that was bought by Kraft in 2010 but has promised to retain its original philosophy. It supplies the UK, Europe, Canada, the US, Australia and New Zealand. It has a strong commitment to fair trade and ethical sourcing, and the online range includes Fairtrade Easter eggs for kids (see pic). 

The company’s dark chocolate products are made without milk but it warns that because of cross-contamination in the production process they may not be entirely milk free.

Divine is the only Fairtrade chocolate company that’s 45 per cent owned by the farmers. According to its website, ‘While Fairtrade ensures farmers receive a better deal for their cocoa and additional income to invest in their community, company ownership gives farmers a share of Divine’s profits and a stronger voice in the cocoa industry.’ The website has plenty of information and photographs detailing the producer-owned co-op in Ghana, as well as the ingredients used and methods of production - perfect for school projects!

Divine’s Easter range includes dark, milk and white chocolate eggs in gift packaging, as well as bags of mini eggs and mini chocolate bunnies. Unfortunately the products aren’t organic or vegan.

Divine products are available from stockists in the following countries: USA, Canada, Sweden, Norway, 
Holland, Hungary, Denmark, Czech Republic, Japan, Australia, Poland, South Korea. They're also available online in the UK (through the main website) the USA, Scandinavia and the Netherlands.

Have a wonderful Easter, and happy chocolate munching!



3 comments :

Sankofa said...

Hi, Just letting you know that Divine chocolate and Easter eggs are actually available in Australia too - I'm stocking them in my store in Melbourne (Sankofa) and lots of other small businesses are too - you can see a list of Australian stockists on www.heartofchocolate.com.

Wholesale Food said...

I love chocolates and specially Dark Chocolates..

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