Kelly’s

How ethical is Kelly’s?

Kelly’s is an Ice Cream brand which has a below-benchmark score on The Good Shopping Guide’s Ethical Ice Cream Ratings Table. Although Kelly’s has not yet met our ethical benchmark, we hope to see the brand make progress in the future.

We would have extra confidence in Kelly’s if it submitted itself to apply for Ethical Accreditation, whereby The Good Shopping Guide would make further detailed assessment and recommendations for ethical improvement.

Find out more about the ethical issues facing the Ice Cream sector and see how other brands score in our Ethical Ice Cream Ratings Table.

What does Kelly’s do?

Kelly’s is a Cornish based ice cream brand. It is now owned by Froneri, a Nestle partner.

In which areas does Kelly’s perform poorly?

Despite Kelly’s progress, there is still room for improvement. Kelly’s was marked down under our criteria for GMO as its parent company, Nestlé S.A., states that it believes GMO ingredients are safe to use.

Nestlé states that it still uses animal testing where required by law, so Kelly’s receives a bottom rating for Animal Welfare. Find out more about how we rate by exploring our ethical criteria.

Past Criticisms of Kelly’s record

In 2023 an investigation revealed that some pesticides that are banned in the EU are being used by farms in Brazil supplying Nestlé. In the same year a report by Rainforest Action Network called on brands including Nestlé to cease using palm oil sourced from the Harita Group, due to the group’s destruction of indigenous communities in Borneo. Nestlé was also criticised in early 2023 for failing to cease trading in Russia.

In 2019, Nestlé was named by Break Free From Plastic, along with Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, as the top plastic polluters for a second year in a row. In the same year Nestlé announced that they couldn’t guarantee their chocolate was free from child slave labour due to only half of their purchasing being fully traceable.

In which areas does Kelly’s score well for its ethics?

Kelly’s parent company, Nestlé, published its ‘Creating Shared Value and Sustainability Report’ which includes a number of environmental targets relating to carbon reduction, deforestation-free supply chains and recyclable packaging. Therefore Kelly’s scores well for Environmental Report.

Kelly’s scores well for Nuclear, Fossil Fuels and Armaments due to a lack of criticisms across these criteria.

How can Kelly’s improve its ethical rating?

The below-benchmark score that Kelly’s is awarded with on The Good Shopping Guide’s Ethical Ice Cream Ratings Table is the result of an evaluation of multiple ethical criteria.

To reach our minimum ethical benchmark and qualify for Ethical Accreditation, Kelly’s has some issues to resolve, including its use of GMOs and Animal Testing. If it applies for Ethical Accreditation, The Good Shopping Guide will be able to give Kelly’s some guidance to improve on these areas.

Were you aware that your brand could benefit from Ethical Accreditation? Brands accredited by The Good Shopping Guide can display our Ethical Mark, showcasing to consumers that it is an ethical and sustainable brand.

If you’re interested in learning more about how to attain Ethical Accreditation, please contact us or complete a Free Initial Assessment form.