assurance: garantie

byword: synoniem.

to champion: opkomen voor.

concern: bezorgdheid.

to outsell: meer verkopen dan.

Quaker: eigenlijk ‘Genootschap der vrienden’, een religieuze groep binnen de protestantse Kerk. De naam Quaker is vandaag zo geaccepteerd dat ook de leden van het genootschap hem nu gebruiken. Maar oorspronkelijk was het een scheldnaam die in 1650 ontstond toen George Fox (1624-1691) werd beschuldigd van godslastering, omdat hij de staatskerk afwees en vond dat mensen zelf de antwoorden op hun vragen moesten vinden. Bij zijn ondervraging zei George Fox dat ondervragers moesten beven (’to quake’) voor het woord van de Heer. De aanhangers van Fox werden daarna spottend ‘quakers’ (bibberaars) genoemd

Since it was set up 14 years ago to support a group of Mayan Indians in Belize, Green & Black’s has become a byword in Britain for ethical and enterprising business. Its chocolate, made from organically grown crops for which the farmers are paid a premium price, has developed a reputation as a high-quality product and has been remarkably successful – so successful, in fact, that the company now has similar arrangements with cocoa farmers in Madagascar and the Dominican Republic and, it is estimated, uses up a third of all the organically produced cocoa beans in the world. Despite employing only 30 people, its sales last year totalled more than £20 million (euro28 million) and in some sectors of the British market it outsells all other luxury chocolatiers.

So there were accusations of selling out to big business last month when the company agreed to be bought by the global confectionery giant, Cadbury Schweppes – which employs 55,000 people and whose sales last year were £6.7 billion. What, people wonder, will happen to those ethical business practices? What will happen to the Mayan cocoa farmers? Will the contents of Green & Black’s chocolate remain truly organic?

Assurances have been given. But can they be believed? There is perhaps more hope than there would be if some other global commercial empire were involved. The firm of Cadbury was started some 200 years ago in England by Quakers who championed social equality. They were one of the first to set up production in a ‘green’ working environment and to change the source of their raw materials because of concerns over slave labour.

Still, we will have to wait and see.

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