The switch by Maltesers, which is the third biggest confectionery brand in the UK, will represent more than a 10% increase in total UK Fairtrade sales, the company claims.
Mars says the move will contribute $1m (£640,000) a year in Fairtrade funds to cocoa farmers to invest in their farms and local communities.
It follows similar switches by its rivals, including Kraft’s Dairy Milk brands and Nestle’s KitKat, which source their cocoa from Fairtrade production methods.
Mars says it intends to buy all of its cocoa from sustainable production sources by 2020. In 2009, sustainably certified cocoa, represented just 1% of total purchases, the Fairtrade Foundation claims.
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