The Tony’s Chocolonely story: a load of baloney?
There’s been a bit of a meltdown in ethical circles this week. Tony’s Chocolonely, the poster boy of ethical, slave-free chocolate has been unceremoniously dropped from the Slave Free Chocolate list.
In a nutshell the story is this. Tony’s uses Barry Callebaut to process it’s beans. That’s not new: when Tony’s launched in 2005 it made the conscious decision to use Callebaut.
Callebaut is one of the biggest cocoa processors in the world. Tony’s own supply chain is traceable. But Callebaut’s supply chain is implicated in child labour and slavery. That’s why Tony’s was dropped - because it works with Callebaut.
Tony’s was never about small scale chocolate. It’s mission has always been to prove that mass produced chocolate can be slave-free. It’s argument, then and now, is that it can only have an influence if it plays with the big boys. Tony’s is about making change happen from within the system.
Now, many of those working in the impact sector remain fully, 100% supportive of Tony’s. Their principles are strong. They have consistently shown that those principles are at the heart of what they do. Tony’s really do walk the walk.
That’s where the problem lies. Whilst being superb at walking the walk, Tony’s have really messed up on talking the talk.
Whilst being superb at walking the walk, Tony’s have really messed up on talking the talk.
Lesson 1: This should never have been a story (part 1)
Talk to experts in the field, and they’ll tell you that Tony’s has never claimed to be slave-free.
All well and good. But that’s not the point.
Read their website mission - even today, a few days after the furore - and it is peppered with phrases like: “By following Tony’s Sourcing Principles for slave-free cocoa, it's possible to make slave-free chocolate and be commercially successful. Alone we make slave free chocolate, together we make all chocolate 100% slave free.”
Media reports have used phrases like “[Tony’s] prides itself on producing 100% slave-free chocolate” and “If you don’t know about Tony’s Chocolonely (where have you been?!), it’s a slave-free, ethical chocolate brand born from a Dutch journalist’s horror that he had been complicit in slavery by eating chocolate.”
It’s very clear that the public - and media - perception of Tony’s is that it IS slave free. Not that it’s working to eradicate slavery. The Tony’s website has done little to correct that.
If Tony’s had squashed the ‘slave free’ line, instead of perpetuating it, this story would never have happened.
Tony’s over-promised and under-delivered. It has focused too much on the outcome, and too little on the journey.
Tony’s over-promised and under-delivered.
Lesson 2: Expect to be held to a higher standard
It’s a simple fact that if you’re an ethical business you will be held to a higher standard than your non-impact partners.
If your audience is passionate people then expect them to be passionate about your failings - perceived or otherwise. And there will always be those who revel in taking you down.
The reaction to electric car manufacturers mining lithium for batteries is fierce; the maltreatment of workers mining fossil fuels is accepted.
If Amazon sends a ridiculously over-sized, plastic encased package then customers roll their eyes and shrug.
If an eco company uses an address label that’s perceived to have a plastic laminate? Watch your socials go bonkers and your unsubscribes rocket - and watch the backlash rear its head, all over again, in six months time on a random Facebook group that you have zero control over.
There are only two ways to deal with that:
Be totally transparent.
Under-promise and over-deliver.
If Tony’s had been mindful of that then it’s unlikely that the story would have been written.
Lesson 3: Get your tone right (or how not to respond to a PR nightmare)
Unfortunately for Tony’s, the writing was on the wall - it’s communications mistakes and high profile meant that a story like this was pretty much inevitable.
The problem was compounded when Tony’s didn’t respond brilliantly.
Now, at first glance, Tony’s response looks OK - it talks about transparency and clarity, and some complex issues are presented simply and clearly.
But crisis PR can be tricky - and this misses the mark. At times it’s defensive. The casual, chatty tone may be ‘on brand’ in normal circumstances - but it’s pretty jarring when talking about child labour and slavery.
The release includes the sentence “Last year we found 387 cases of illegal child labour and remediated 221.”
It’s never a good thing if your press release raises as many questions as it answers. Leaving the issue of 166 cases of illegal child labour unresolved is a mistake that Tony’s were incredibly lucky to get away with.
But - as an experienced journalist and PR manager - even after reading this statement, I STILL didn’t pick up why the whole story about Tony’s Chocolonely is, in fact, a load of baloney.
Lesson 4: This is where the baloney kicks in
It was only when the Tony’s UK CEO took to LinkedIn to tell someone to ‘do their research’ (that’s a discussion for another day!) that it clicked.
And this is the crux of why this whole sorry affair should, in fact, be an absolute non-story.
The ‘Slave Free Chocolate List’ sounds impressive. Perhaps something akin to Fair Trade or Rainforest Alliance certification - or even an Ethical Consumer ranking?
Well, no.
The list in question isn’t exactly high profile. It’s the work of someone who is probably extremely ethically-minded and absolutely trying to do their best about a horrible issue.
The Slave Free Chocolate website describes itself as a ‘grass roots organisation’.
I’m going to say what Tony’s can’t.
I’m going to say what Tony’s can’t.
Slave Free Chocolate is a side project - probably written from a sofa on a winter’s evening. It is based upon subjective personal opinion - there are no published criteria or measurements.
And it’s not the opinion of someone who works on impact measurement, sustainable business, fair trade, supply chains or even the food industry - it’s someone who runs a plastering business.
It has no more authority than if I pull together a list of my favourite cars and put them online as the definitive guide to the best cars out there.
Now, I’m not having a pop at the list owner. What’s not to respect about someone who’s trying to make the world better in their spare time?
But I am, most definitely, having a pop at Billy Kenber, the ‘Investigations reporter’ at the Times who ‘broke’ this non-story.
First rule of journalism: use reliable sources.
Billy did a bad job. But it happens. Picking up the pieces left by sloppy reporting is a thing that businesses have to be prepared for.
But Tony’s needed to do a better job of making that clear.
To conclude
The headline here is that Tony’s has been dropped from an ethical list because of it’s links to slavery. The truth is far more nuanced.
But, from a communications and marketing perspective, that’s irrelevant.
To quote a customer on social media: “Having fallen in love with this brand, I can't help but feel a little let down”.
The damage is done.
It’s a salutary lesson for ethical businesses. Experts understood and applauded the subtleties of the Tony’s approach. Consumers rarely go that deep. They see the headlines, they like what they see, and they feel good about being on board.
But when the gloss rubs off they feel let down and duped. They’re angry and disappointed - often rejecting Tony’s for Cadburys (“At last they don’t claim to do things they don’t actually do!”)
Like most in the impact sector, I feel sorry for Tony’s. They do great work in an incredibly challenging and complex area. But this week, Tony’s communications problems have come back to bite them, hard.
We just have to hope that it doesn’t have a long term impact on the business.