This post will have to go live a few days later, since I ordered some gifts I don’t want to telegraph, but here’s the deal: I ordered from Endangered Species Chocolate and found my order at my driveway about 24 hours later.
Let us count the ways this went right:
- I ordered using a coupon they tweeted and got a good price.
- I got organic chocolate…
- …with verified non-GMO ingredients….
- …certified by the Rainforest Alliance for environmental sustainability…
- …and humane working conditions (no slavery on the cocoa farms)…
- …from a company which actively supports environmental projects.
- And it was delivered to my driveway, shipping included, within 24 hours.
That makes me a happy customer. Granted, Endangered Species is a local company to me and so their shipping might not be so quick for everyone, but still. The chocolate wasn’t even melty, thanks to the cold packs (which I tucked into the freezer to reuse).
Now, nothing’s perfect, so here are the ways it went wrong:
- Some items were missing from my order.
I called customer service and left a message. My call was returned within 5 minutes, I explained the problem, and I was promised a confirmation later that afternoon and product shipped the next day. So, still pretty happy.
I’ve found that Rainforest Alliance may not be the best standard for environmental and human rights certification; the label can be applied to products with a minority of certified ingredients or containing only a single certified ingredient. But from what else I’ve read, organic chocolate is almost always going to be more environmentally-sound and slave-free, so that’s a good thing to look for as well.
As always, please share anything you learn about responsible chocolate and where to find it!
“Responsible chocolate.” So many amazing mental images and fanarts just waiting to happen. In the meantime, I’ve never heard of this company — I’m going to go check them out!