Trick or Treat: Are there dirty sweets in your Halloween bucket?

What are the ethical risks of buying sweets?

Buying sweets can feel like a twisted game of Trick or Treat. You just don’t know whether you’re accidentally funding deforestation or if you’ve just donated to charity. Thankfully, The GOOD Shopping Guide is here to help you unmask the truth and cut through the greenwashing.

Skeletons and vampires aren’t the scariest things roaming the streets on October 31st. Unfortunately, many of the big names we’re used to picking up in the supermarket are also some of the worst brands for the Environment, Animals and People.

Take Fruit Pastilles and Jelly Tots for example. Owned by the notorious international conglomerate Nestlé, the price tag for these sweets isn’t just pounds out of your pocket, it’s also a long history of deforestation, food poisoning and human rights violations.

And chocolate isn’t much safer – Cadbury’s parent company Mondelēz has been criticised for animal testing, greenwashing and child labour. Mondelēz also owns Oreo, Sour Patch Kids and Toblerone.

How ethical are my favourite sweets?

Fortunately, not all supermarket sweets are bottom-of-the-table bad in our latest update. Drumsticks, Refreshers, Panda Licorice, Mallow & Marsh and BEAR are all better choices than Haribo, Tic Tacs, Skittles and Starbursts.

If you’re going to be buying lots of sweets this Halloween (or Christmas, if you’re planning ahead) then it is well worth putting a bit of extra thought into where your money is going. Don’t be pulled in by colourful packaging, vague promises of sustainability or tempting supermarket deals.

Exploring more ethical sweets is also a (delicious) way of discovering new favourites. Ones that both taste good and do good.

What makes sweets brands sustainable?

But how do we decide which brands are ethical? Is there a way to tell for yourself?

We look at a broad range of criteria across the Environment, Animals and People, including environmental reports, palm oil free, genetic modification and animal welfare to name a few. Typically, seeing vegan certification (The Vegan Society, for example) is a good sign that the brand is taking steps to be kinder to the planet and animals.

However, this cannot be counted upon to guarantee a brand’s ethical values as a whole. It is always best to consult our ethical comparison tables wherever possible.

To learn more about our research criteria, take a look at our How We Rate page. For a more focused look at the ethical issues in the sweets sector, see our Ethical Sweets article.

How to buy ethical sweets?

By comparing brands on our Sweets: Ethical Comparison Ratings Table, you will see the most ethical brands first. At the very top of our table is GOOD Shopping Guide Accredited brand Free From Fellows which can be found in Sainsbury’s, Holland & Barrett, Ocado and Grape Tree among others.

Free From Fellows offers a delicious range of gummy bears, cola bottles, pear drops and more. All its products, including the famous marshmallows, are vegan-friendly, sugar-free and suitable for those who can’t eat gluten, nuts and soy amongst others. Natural colours and flavours mean that if you’re going to hand out sweets to children (and adults too!) Free From Fellows is one of the healthiest options.

For more options, look for the brands in the green. Ethical Superstore is a great place to buy from as it stocks a much wider range of ethical sweets than your average supermarket.

We hope that this article has helped you understand the importance of being informed about your purchasing power and how to choose sweets brands that are better for the Environment, Animals and People. By following this advice, you can make a change that helps stop funnelling money into unethical business practices and keeps the treats without the tricks.