Skip to content

Ethical brand ratings and accreditation since 2001

Back to table

Lindt

How ethical and sustainable is Lindt? 

Lindt is a brand from Lindt & Sprüngli AG, appearing in The Good Shopping Guide’s Ethical Chocolate Ratings Table. Lindt has not yet met our ethical benchmark, but we hope that in the future it will make steps toward operating as a more ethical company. A way that this brand could increase our confidence (as well as customer confidence) would be a submission for Ethical Accreditation. Applying for Ethical Accreditation would allow The Good Shopping Guide to make a further detailed assessment of the brand and suggest areas and recommendations for ethical improvement.

Find out why ethical Chocolate is so important and compare Lindt to other brands in our Ethical Chocolate Rating Table.

What does Lindt do?

Lindt was founded in 1845 in Switzerland by father and son David Sprüngli-Schwarz and Rudolf Sprüngli-Ammann, merging with Lindt in 1899. Lindt now operates in over 120 countries worldwide with its headquarters still located in Switzerland. Lindt is known for producing luxury Swiss chocolate in the form of hot chocolate, chocolate truffles, bars and also offering a vegan chocolate option range.

For which criteria does Lindt perform poorly?

Despite Lindt’s progress, there is still room for the brand to improve. Lindt was marked down for not offering an Organic chocolate range or Fairtrade chocolate. Also, over the last few years, Lindt has given thousands of pounds worth of political donations during election cycles.

Past Criticisms of Lindt’s ethical record

Lindt has been criticised in the past after an assessment from The Corporate Human Rights Benchmark. This assessment surveyed 200 companies for 100 human rights indicators to give each company a score. Lindt scored 5.5/26 which was even lower than the average of 9 showing that the brand is not consciously working to improve human rights within its business.

In what areas does Lindt score well for its ethics?

Lindt performs well in offering Vegan chocolate and released a non-GMO statement showing that they do not use genetically modified ingredients in its products. The brand was also awarded a high rating in environmental reports as it has set goals that allow it to work towards a more sustainable future such as the goal to have 100% recyclable packaging by 2025.

How can Lindt improve its ethical rating?

The Good Shopping Guide looks at three main criteria, Environment, People and Animals in order to calculate a brand’s ethical rating. Find out more about our research methodology here.

For Lindt to qualify for Ethical Accreditation it must meet the minimum ethical benchmark required. This brand might look at producing chocolate that is Fairtrade to ensure that all members in the supply chain are receiving what they deserve, as well as stopping its Political Donations, which can affect democratic processes negatively.

If you work for or with a chocolate brand with ethics at its heart, why not look into Ethical Accreditation with The Good Shopping Guide? Chocolate brands like Seed & Bean, Alter Eco, Wunder Workshop and Raw Living have all benefitted from this certification of sustainability and ethics. Find out more by getting in touch, or fill out a quick, initial assessment form.

Ethical performance in category

0

GSG score

54
70

GSG category benchmark

100

Ethical Rating

Environment

  • Environmental Report

    Good

  • Genetic Modification

    Good

  • Organic

    Poor

  • Nuclear Power

    Good

Animal

  • Animal Welfare

    Good

  • Vegetarian/Vegan Verified

    Good

People

  • Armaments

    Good

  • Political Donations

    Poor

  • Fairtrade

    Poor

Other

  • Ethical Accreditation

    Poor

  • Public Record Criticisms

    Acceptable

= GSG Top Rating = GSG Middle Rating = GSG Bottom Rating