It’s now or never: farmers need the industry’s commitment
This past year showed something super important: even in the cocoa industry’s toughest season in decades, real change IS possible if we all commit to paying cocoa farmers a price that enables them to earn a living income, long term. Cause that’s exactly how we keep increasing our impact here at Tony’s, year after year. But we need the entire industry to join us to achieve our mission. It’s now or never.
You might’ve seen it in the news – cocoa harvests in West Africa hit a historic low in 2024/2025, causing prices to spike and pushing farmers to the edge. But even in crisis, our impact grew bigger than ever before, reaching tens of thousands of cocoa-farming families in Côte d’Ivoire + Ghana.
And that’s all thanks to you: the choco fans choosing our chocolate, and our 20+ Mission Allies sourcing their cocoa through Tony’s Open Chain (= our open-source model). ’Cause together, we can fight exploitation in cocoa: poverty, child labor and deforestation.
Our red hot results? We thought you’d never ask..
32,133 cocoa farmers were paid a price that enables a living income
This last year, 32,133 cocoa farmers benefited from Tony’s Sourcing Principles, our approach to fighting exploitation in cocoa. That’s a 58% (!!) increase in farmers compared to the year before, as more brands joined Tony’s Open Chain.
All 32,133 farmers were paid at least the Living Income Reference Price (LIRP), plus extra premiums and our Emergency Productivity Boost, which we offered farmers when yields dropped. Still, our long-term data shows 59.4% of farmers at our longest‑term partner co-ops don’t yet earn a living income. So this year, we evolved our living income model to focus on income, resilience, climate-positive productivity + strong cooperatives.
813 children got out of child labor
Did you know about 1.56 million children* are engaged in child labor in cocoa communities Côte d’Ivoire + Ghana? Tony’s exists to change that. By tracing all our cocoa from bean to bar, we know where it comes from, which is crucial for identifying + remediating child labor cases on cocoa farms.
*NORC report, 2020
At our longest-term partner co-ops, child labor rates have stayed below 5% for 5 years running.
Last year, we found 3,448 cases of child labor in our supply chain. And that’s all thanks to the rapid expansion of our Child Labor Monitoring and Remediation System (CLMRS), which we manage closely with our partner co-ops. CLMRS now covers 93.7% of all the households we work with.
Each child identified receives the immediate support they need to stop doing dangerous work. All the cases we’ve found are in the process of being remediated. Last year, we closed 813 cases, meaning another 813 children are now out of child labor. So they can play, go to school and dream BIG.
42,538 cocoa farms were verified as deforestation-free
Our mission to fight exploitation in cocoa doesn’t just mean we’re committed to farmers, but to forests, too. That’s why we’re super proud to announce that 99.99% of our cocoa is verified deforestation-free, with only 2 out of 42,538 farms having confirmed instances of deforestation. Our approach – embedded in Tony’s Sourcing Principles – is built around what the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) will require once it comes into force.
.. That’s it? No way! There’s loads more we’d love to share with you – and it’s all in our latest annual FAIR report.
But in a cocoa shell? This year’s results point to 1 thing: when companies commit to paying farmers a price that enables a living income, long term, that price is what makes the rest possible. 20+ Mission Allies have already joined us – but to reach the 2.5 million farmers in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, we need the industry to commit, too. Not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because it’s the smart thing to do.
When farmers receive a price that enables a living income, long term, they can invest in their farms + their families. And when yields recover, cocoa supply is steadier, which means less price volatility for companies. The best part? Companies are already paying it today; we just need them to commit to doing so for the long haul. ’Cause if we can pay it today, we can pay it tomorrow.
That’s how we fight exploitation in cocoa: poverty, child labor and deforestation.
It’s now or never – who’s ready to commit?
