Liquorice Allsorts

How ethical is Liquorice Allsorts?

Liquorice Allsorts is a brand owned by Mondelēz International which has a below-benchmark score on The Good Shopping Guide’s Ethical Sweets Ratings Table. Although Liquorice Allsorts has not yet met our ethical benchmark, we hope to see the brand make progress in the future.

We would have extra confidence in Liquorice Allsorts 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 Sweets sector and see how other brands score in our Ethical Sweets Ratings Table.

What does Liquorice Allsorts do?

Liquorice Allsorts are sold as a mixture of various liquorice-based sweets. They were first produced by Bassett & Co Ltd, in Sheffield in 1899. Bassett’s became a brand of Cadbury Schweppes in 1989 and was then merged with Maynards by new owner Mondelēz International in 2016.

In which areas does Liquorice Allsorts perform poorly?

Liquorice Allsorts was marked down under our criteria for GMO as its parent company, Mondelēz International, states that it believes GMO ingredients are safe to use. Mondelēz states that it still uses animal testing where required by law, so receives a bottom rating for Animal Welfare.

Mondelēz donated over $300k in recent election cycles so Liquorice Allsorts gets a poor rating for this criterion.

Find out more about how we rate by exploring our ethical criteria.

Past Criticisms of Liquorice Allsorts’ record

Liquorice Allsorts’ parent company, Mondelēz International, has been accused of not coming through on its promise to scale back its presence in Russia during the Ukrainian war. The company has also come under fire for contributing to deforestation and child labour through its supply chain due to a lack of transparency surrounding its cocoa sources.

There have been numerous other claims made against Mondelēz relating to child labour, land-grabs, use of harmful pesticides and destruction of forests for soya production.

In which areas does Liquorice Allsorts score well for its ethics?

Liquorice Allsorts’ parent company, Mondelēz International, has a report entitled ‘Snacking Made Right’ which includes lots of environmental targets, giving it a good score for its Environmental Report.

We found no criticisms of Liquorice Allsorts relating to Nuclear, Fossil Fuels or Armaments so it scores well for these criteria.

How can Liquorice Allsorts improve its ethical rating?

The below-benchmark score that Liquorice Allsorts is awarded on The Good Shopping Guide’s Ethical Sweets Ratings Table is the result of an evaluation of multiple ethical criteria.

To reach our minimum ethical benchmark and qualify for Ethical Accreditation, Liquorice Allsorts has some issues to resolve, including its use of GMO ingredients, support for animal testing and political donations. If it applies for Ethical Accreditation, The Good Shopping Guide will be able to give Liquorice Allsorts 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.