sustainability
sustainability
At CHOCQLATE, we want you to be able to enjoy our fine organic chocolate and cocoa bean snacks carefree from the first to the last second. For us, "carefree enjoyment" also means that all products are packaged without plastic and are produced with solar energy.
Around 70 years ago, plastics became a mass product. Living plastic-free was not in the minds of the industry and consumers. A publication by a research group led by Roland Geyer from the University of California shows that in 1950 two million tons of plastics were produced worldwide. In 2015 it was already 380 million tons of plastic.
Around 8.3 billion tons of plastic have been produced worldwide since 1950. This amount corresponds to:
Plastic-free packaging
Ever since CHOCQLATE was founded, we have dealt intensively with the topics of environmental protection, sustainability and the circular economy. In 2014, as one of the first confectionery manufacturers in the entire organic range, we began packaging our products in biodegradable cellulose film. Despite the financial challenges in our start-up phase, we consciously renounced margins and chose to use this environmentally friendly, plastic-free packaging.
The transparent one NatureFlex-Folie by Futamura, which looks like plastic, is based on wood fibers from controlled, sustainable forestry (FSC or PEFC certified). It has good gas barrier properties, which protect the taste and the fruity-nutty aromas of our fine "Virgin Cacao" chocolate in the best possible way. Special coatings prevent the ingress of humidity. As a result, the chocolate retains its shine, its crystalline structure and its "crunch". This does not apply to our five-gram mini chocolates, which cannot be packed differently due to the machine.
The attractively designed boxes of our chocolate creations are made of cardboard and are therefore 100 percent recyclable in the paper waste.
By the way: We do not use any adhesives for the easily resealable outer packaging of our 16 CHOCQLATE chocolate varieties. In our opinion, vegan chocolate should also be packaged vegan. Adhesives often contain animal products, so we do not use any glue dots at all. This does not apply to our make-it-yourself kits and bags of our cocoa bean snacks.
How is our inner film disposed of?
There are no clear statements on the disposal of cellulose film. The environmentally friendly alternative to plastic packaging therefore always ends up in places where it cannot be recycled or decomposed. To ensure that our inner film gets back into the recycling cycle, it should be disposed of in the paper waste together with the outer cardboard packaging. Alternatively, you can also throw them on the local compost.
Please do NOT dispose of the cellulose film in the organic bin and NOT in the plastic waste. The organic waste is composted in the municipal or municipal organic composting plants within around three weeks.
In the waste sorting plant, the waste is separated with the help of water. Like paper, cellulose has a lower density than water. It slowly sinks to the ground, is recycled with the paper waste and thus enters the circular economy.
That's why we don't sell unwrapped chocolates?
We want to keep our ecological footprint as small as possible. With great attention we follow the worldwide zero waste movement and are constantly looking for ways to further improve or reduce our packaging.
We would like to sell our delicious organic chocolates in bulk shops, for example. Unfortunately, chocolate does not keep well unwrapped: it loses its shine and structure due to humidity and temperature fluctuations. It becomes porous and the influence of light causes it to turn gray. Since we only want to offer you our high-quality CHOCQLATE chocolates in perfect quality, we are not aware of any viable solution.
Solar energy in production
The production of our high-quality "Virgin Cacao" chocolate is very energy-intensive: the entire production process takes around 50 hours and consumes significant amounts of electricity. Electricity that we generate on site using solar cells. On the roof of the production facility in the middle of Germany there is a photovoltaic system that supplies our manufactory with solar power.
The system is linked to a combined heat and power plant that generates electrical energy and heat. This electricity also flows into production and the resulting heat is used to melt the chocolate masses - because efficient and natural energy generation is important to us!
plantation projects
Cocoa puts you in a good mood and makes you happy. In our opinion, this should apply to you, who enjoy our delicious "Virgin Cacao" chocolate, as well as to the producers of our high-quality, natural raw materials. We take responsibility for ensuring that our cocoa is produced in an ecologically, economically and socially sustainable manner and that it is traded fairly.
How do we support the sustainable development of our cocoa farmers?
Through the cooperation with our partner PERÚ PURO we obtain our "Virgin Cacao“. Thanks to our long-term purchase guarantees, more than 50 cocoa farmers and their families have a stable and regular income. Because for the cocoa beans harvested and dried on our behalf and according to our quality standards, we pay a far higher price than is usual in the Bio-Fair fine flavor cocoa bean trade - currently almost twice as much.
All farmers of the cooperative are involved in the projects of the non-profit association "Frederic - Hilfe für Peru e.V." www.frederic-hfp.de/index.php/projekte merged. These aim to improve the situation of the population in the central Urumbamba Valley through effective help for self-help. The focus of the numerous projects is the transfer of know-how: through the improvement of school education, the training of cocoa farmers in ecological agricultural techniques adapted to their ecosystem, adult education or the founding of women's groups.
The smallholders of the cocoa cooperative learn to cultivate in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way, to reforest degraded areas and to feed themselves more healthily by growing vegetables and raising small livestock.
CHOCQLATE chocolates not only make you a little bit happier, but also our cocoa farmers! And of course us too...
