Ethical & Fairtrade Biscuits
See our Ethical Biscuits Ratings Table to compare brands
What are the ethical issues associated with biscuits?
It’s probably safe to say that most of us can’t resist a biscuit. But what makes a biscuit brand ethical? As with the production of anything, biscuit brands can be involved in unethical production practices. This could be through direct practices or unethical sourcing of ingredients. Many of the problems relating to the ethics of biscuit brands pertain to choices of ingredients and overlap with the chocolate industry. (Check out our Ethical Chocolate brands article here). This is due to the myriad of issues involved with sourcing ingredients such as chocolate, cocoa and sugar. Overall, this makes choosing biscuit brands an ethical minefield of issues for consumers.
Our research into biscuit brands
Luckily, our independent research exists to empower shoppers to confidently make the right brand choices. One prominent example of an unethical brand choice includes Ferrero SpA , the parent company group of various biscuit brands such as Fox’s, Maryland, and Jammie Dodgers. These brands have been accused of using ingredients sourced through child labour and worker exploitation . Our research found that of all the biscuit brands analysed, less than 1 in 5 biscuit brands possessed Fairtrade certification, which ensures that they are not involved in the practices as those mentioned above.
Alongside the physical and financial exploitation, the ethical issues associated with biscuit brands extend to other areas covered by our Environment, Animals and People criteria. This means that these brands do not having a published Environmental Report. These brands do not calculate the subsequent environmental impact of their activities. Additionally, biscuit brands are associated with further problematic issues such as the use of palm oil, accusations of animal cruelty and even financial support of armaments.
How to choose ethical biscuits
With this in mind, your choice of afternoon snack may be responsible for funding deforestation, child labour or supplying weapons to war efforts. But by switching your choice of biscuit brands to Fairtrade biscuits or organic biscuits, you can avoid problematic production practices and make your treat that much sweeter, knowing it is an ethical choice.
With consumers demanding more Fairtrade and organic choices, many biscuit brands have both taken note and action. Our independent research has found that of all biscuit brands researched, over a quarter pass The Good Shopping Guide’s ethical benchmark. This can be seen in our Ethical Biscuits Ratings Table. We recommend you use the information in our table when comparing biscuit brands on ethics. Choose from any of the companies shown in green. Signal to retailers that you want more choices of ethical biscuits.
See our Ethical Biscuits Ratings Table to compare brands
Our research team has written in-depth reports on the biggest biscuit brands. Click on a brand name to read exclusive research from The Good Shopping Guide, and see how each brand considers the Environment, Animals and People.
Doves Farm, Lotus Biscoff, Elizabeth Shaw, Bahlsen, Nairn’s, Walker’s Shortbread, Hill, Biscuiteers, Border Biscuits, Cartwright & Butler, Fox’s, Jammie Dodgers, Lyons, Maryland, Siro, Wagon Wheel, Cadbury, Mikado, Oreo, Tunnock’s, Galaxy, McVities, Prewetts, and Weight Watchers.