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Original poster

Tony's Chocolonely

104 replies

Ekerty72 · 13/12/2021 09:55

This happened on 8th December so I'm not sure why I haven't seen it until now. An advent calendar from Tony's took away a chocolate to highlight inequality within the chocolate industry and the children that work in the industry. As a marketing tool I thought it was clever. Opinion however was divided as there was no warning for neurodivergent children so they did issue an apology...

Made me really think though......if you have a moment have a read of their statement and why they did it....

tonyschocolonely.com/uk/en/why-our-calendar-is-unequally-divided-choco-fans

OP posts:
ReeseWitherfork · 13/12/2021 15:36

As bad as companies who use ‘sustainable palm oil’ when there is, in reality, no such thing.

Isn't there? I thought WWF's mission was all about palm oil production without deforestation and working with local communities?

Wisper1 · 13/12/2021 16:14

Getting a bit sick of all this crap. You are buying chocolates (in an advent calendar) not a political opinion.

sociallydistained · 13/12/2021 16:24

If you bought your child an expensive calendar like this and they’re kicking off about not getting a chocolate (and you’ve explained tomorrow has two) then it was pointless wasn’t it.

I love this brand and I wish I had the calendar. I don’t buy their chocolate enough because at £3.50 when I am guaranteed to eat the whole bar in one hit (greedy guts, addicted to chocolate) it is a bit too much for me but I do buy it as gifts and I occasionally buy it for myself!

Interested in this thread?

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General food
JaninaDuszejko · 13/12/2021 16:28

If you buy Tony's chocolate you know you're going to get the politics built in, it's an integral part of the brand. Nice chocolate as well.

Chemenger · 13/12/2021 16:35

@Wisper1

Getting a bit sick of all this crap. You are buying chocolates (in an advent calendar) not a political opinion.
But this is what this brand puts forward quite explicitly as their ethos. Don’t buy it if you don’t like it, there are many other chocolates and advent calendars out there which you may prefer.
TyrannysaurusXXrightshoarder · 13/12/2021 16:39

@ReeseWitherfork

As bad as companies who use ‘sustainable palm oil’ when there is, in reality, no such thing.

Isn't there? I thought WWF's mission was all about palm oil production without deforestation and working with local communities?

There’s not much point in a deforestation policy if no one enforces it. RSPO members can still destroy forests with impunity in many areas of Indonesia. There’s long been an environmental crisis in Indonesia caused by forest fires - lots of them on land supposedly growing ‘sustainable’ palm oil. As recently as 2019 three quarters of the land where forest fires raged were owned by RSPO members. I lived in Singapore for a few years, sometimes the smog coming from Indonesia was appalling and hazardous.
Fairyliz · 13/12/2021 16:43

Well another company I can add to my list of those to not buy from.
I just want to eat chocolate not be lectured too about how I am a terrible person and as I am British personally responsible for all of the ills in the world.

KimDeals · 13/12/2021 16:53

@ShirleyPhallus

It is explained on the box - but I didn’t read it until after my daughter came to me in floods of outraged tears that there was “no chocolate today”. She went absolutely bonkers.

I explained it to her and she roars “I don’t want to be taught a lesson!!!” in response!

This cannot be real

7 year old disappointment is real. Why would I make up my daughters reaction?
Shiningpath · 13/12/2021 16:55

and as I am British personally responsible for all of the ills in the world.

@Fairyliz given it’s a Dutch brand that was available there for a number of years with the same messaging before it was even available in niche UK retailers, I don’t think they give a toss about your nationality. The world doesn’t evolve around you.

LadyCampanulaTottington · 13/12/2021 16:55

@Fairyliz

Well another company I can add to my list of those to not buy from. I just want to eat chocolate not be lectured too about how I am a terrible person and as I am British personally responsible for all of the ills in the world.
How empirical. You do understand that Tonys is not British and not exclusively sold on Britain? Hmm
Lockheart · 13/12/2021 16:57

@Fairyliz

Well another company I can add to my list of those to not buy from. I just want to eat chocolate not be lectured too about how I am a terrible person and as I am British personally responsible for all of the ills in the world.
Truly we are seeing the collapse of the entire brand. Come back, all is forgiven.
KimDeals · 13/12/2021 17:00

@sociallydistained

If you bought your child an expensive calendar like this and they’re kicking off about not getting a chocolate (and you’ve explained tomorrow has two) then it was pointless wasn’t it.

Ah I don’t think so - my daughter loves Tony’s choc but she’s no idea about their ethical business model, she kicked off in surprise for sure but she remembers the explanation as to why though. I think it was an interesting spin from them.

Fairyliz · 13/12/2021 17:01

@Lockheart
Given how much chocolate I eat that could well be the case Grin

Comefromaway · 13/12/2021 17:01

It was on an exchange to Holland that Dd first came across the brand.

Their milk chocolate is nothing special but the honey almond is yum.

KimDeals · 13/12/2021 17:03

@Shiningpath

I didn’t read it until after my daughter came to me in floods of outraged tears that there was “no chocolate today”. She went absolutely bonkers.

Unless there are some special needs here that is a massive overreaction.

Thanks for your online special needs assessment. Really appropriate. Cheers.
TheVanguardSix · 13/12/2021 17:05

I feel a moral brain freeze coming on.

Mariammah · 13/12/2021 17:06

I don’t see why making an ethical purchase means I have to accept being preached at too? I just want to buy a good quality ethical product and get on with my life, I don’t want a lecture as well. Imo this preachy attitude puts people off making ethical purchases.

Lockheart · 13/12/2021 17:13

[quote Fairyliz]@Lockheart
Given how much chocolate I eat that could well be the case Grin[/quote]
Fair point! Grin

ThrobbingToothacheOfTheMind · 13/12/2021 17:13

*Sorry, you wanted them to just send you free chocolate becasue you have a "6 figure instagram following""

You wanted something for nothing*

Grin Beggars belief. “Beggar” being the operative word.
Tal45 · 13/12/2021 17:14

I would have just said open number 9 it has two in, have one today and save the other for tomorrow.

Tal45 · 13/12/2021 17:15

@TyrannysaurusXXrightshoarder

They explain that here….

“Barry Callebaut has believed in our mission and collaborated with us to set up fully segregated processing for our 100% traceable beans so they are never mixed with other beans. Working with Barry Callebaut allows us to further scale up our production and enables us to grow Tony’s Open Chain”

This is laughable. So it’s ok to work with a producer with links to child slavery as long as they say:
“hey, we’re holding our hands up here, at least you can see we work with them, so you know, traceability. And the fact that working with BC allows us to make chocolate, cheaply, and at scale (unlike the truly ethical small scale makers) well that’s just a coincidence“

As bad as companies who use ‘sustainable palm oil’ when there is, in reality, no such thing.

Agreed I read their whole statement and it sounded like a load of convenient BS to me.
winteranimal · 13/12/2021 17:17

I feel like if they wanted to do this it would have been better to do 2 chocolates on 8th and none on 9th so parents could say to children, "Well, you did have two yesterday."

stingofthebutterfly · 13/12/2021 17:32

All I can see is the word 'colon'.

DrCoconut · 13/12/2021 18:12

None of their products (AFAIK) are gluten free so we don't buy them.

NumaNumaYay · 13/12/2021 18:51

[quote LadyCampanulaTottington]@NumaNumaYay clearly you didn’t read my post properly at all.

I never said anything about the ethos not being sound, what I said was the wording of the campaign messaging that was DM’d to me was condescending.[/quote]
I did read your post. I quoted the words you used.
I'm assuming you've made posts of equal or higher levels of annoyance about the issues actually raised as you have about being told about it... right?