Our sister company, The St Vincent Cocoa Company, directly employs over 80 Vincentians on the island and sources cocoa from 60 small independent farmers on the island. The rates of pay for these employees are notably higher than the government’s minimum recommendation and employees are also offered the opportunity of increased pay and career advancement within the company.

The price we pay our independent farmers for their wet cocoa is significantly higher than Fairtrade’s recommended rates and, due to the quality, is almost double the world market price. 

Our operations in the Dominican Republic are audited personally by the Islands UK team during trips to origin. On these visits we visit and speak directly with our farmers to ensure that rigorous protocol is in line pertaining to who is working on the farms and how they are paid.

Indisputably the wider cocoa industry has found slavery of both adults and children to be endemic . At Islands, we do things differently. By personally managing our farms and directly sourcing from farmers, we can eliminate any possibility of slavery in our cocoa supply chain.

St Vincent and the Grenadines has ratified all key international conventions on child labour and the government has established laws and regulations related to child labour. The Bureau of Standards in St Vincent certified in 2022 that our cocoa farms fully comply with national regulations with regard… workers age’ and ‘policy for the prohibition of child labour. We have never come across an incidence of child labour on St Vincent.

Whilst the wider St Vincent economy is relatively poor, we have equally never come across an incidence of forced labour. You can read more about how each and every one of our farmers received Fair Pay here.

Our UK Islands team personally visit our Dominican Republic farms a minimum of three times a year. During these visits we visit and speak directly with farmers to ensure that rigorous protocol is in line pertaining to who is working on the farms and how they are paid.

Between our own leased farmland, and the land of our 60 small farmers, we have planted over 500 acres on St Vincent.

Per acre, we have planted:
- 440 cocoa trees
- 88 mahogany or fruit trees
- 12 coconut trees
- 1,500 gliricidia trees

Given the 2,040 trees per acre and 500 acres, that’s 1,020,000 trees planted to date.

St Vincent is lush with tropical rainforests and preserving this rare and natural environment is at the heart of our agricultural practices. All of our farms are GPS mapped outside of clearly defined forest boundaries and water catchment areas.

As a small country and community, any attempt by a farmer - ours or other - to cut protected rainforest would be immediately reported to the authorities within hours and the perpetrators would face severe penalties.

We have never participated in deforestation in St Vincent.

In the Dominican Republic, all of the farms we work with are GPS mapped outside of forest boundaries. The nearby forests are heavily protected, bordering a national nature reserve renowned for populations of rare bird species.

We are an independent British chocolate company, supported by a small group of private investors.

Our dark chocolates and our Chocolate & Hazelnut Spread are all suitable for vegans!