MARS INCORPORATED FAIR TRADE STRATEGY

Mars Incorporated is a leading chocolate company, committed to improve the sustainability

and quality of chocolate, to benefit farmers, manufacturers and consumers. They have
promoted the fair trade strategy to benefit the farmers by, working and collaborating with
organisations, purchasing and allowing the cocoa to come from certified sustainable
sources, and working directly as well as investing in the cocoa farmers.

Mars Incorporated has promoted the fair trade strategy through collaborating with other
organisations. Mars has partnered with the Fairtrade Foundation and extended the
partnering with Rainforest Alliance, European Committee for Standardization, International
Organization for Standardization and UTZ Certified. By partnering with these organisations,
Mars Incorporated was able to create and complete programmes based around managing
and certifying their supply chain. These organisations also helped with organizing, managing
and developing standards that are to be set for the quality of the farming and cocoa, to
ensure cocoa is coming from certified sources. Mars’ commitment has shown through
sourcing fairtrade chocolate as of 2015 benefitting farmers in cocoa producing countries
such as West Africa to ensure quality cocoa. Through connecting with other organisations,
Mars Incorporated has promoted fairtrade towards the consumers for the producers along
with purchasing allowing cocoa to come from sustainable sources.

To promote the ‘fairtrade’ strategy, Mars Incorporated has also improved purchasing and
allowing their cocoa to come from certified, sustainable sources. Mars aims to use cocoa
from 100% certified sustainable sources by 2020, as according to their “cocoa target”. So
far, they have achieved 40% of their cocoa coming from certified farmers. By carefully
choosing farmers and organisations, Mars has helped create and apply certification
principles to choose farmers that work in a sustainable manner to produce the cocoa. Along
with these principles, Mars Incorporated has promoted fairtrade through investing in the
farmers to benefit them.

By investing money in farmers, Mars Incorporated has promoted fairtrade to benefit the
producers, manufacturers and consumers. Mars has extended their producer range by
reaching out to many farmers in cocoa producing companies, in regions such as West Africa
and South East Asia. As five million people in these regions receive money through cocoa
farming and production, Mars Incorporated has invested in many of these farms to help
advance sustainable practices of these farmers to continue and increase yield of crops. This
money is also directed towards advancing sciences and technology within cocoa
transporting, to improve the sustainability and food miles, while benefitting farmers and their
families towards improving farming practices as well as education to improve knowledge of
‘smart farming’. By extending the producer range, Mars has also committed to directly
working with farmers to ensure certified and sustainable farming practices, while broadening
their skills and introducing them to new technologies to increase yield. By directly working
and investing in farmers, Mars Incorporated has promoted fairtrade, breaking barriers
between the producer, manufacturer and consumer.

By breaking the barriers between the farmers, manufacturers and consumers, Mars
Incorporated has undertaken strategies such as collaborating with organisations, allowing
cocoa to come from sustainable, certified sources and directly working and investing in
cocoa farmers to promote ‘fair trade’ and advocate farmers.