The entire production business in Austria is Fair Trade verified. We are a member of WFTO – the World Fair Trade Organization, which is the umbrella organization for global fair trade. The WFTO monitors business compliance with the 10 principles of fair trade like transparency, respect for the environment, the payment of fair prices and no use of child labor among others.
For more information visit www.wfto.com
FAIR = The fair trade content is indicated on each product’s packaging.*
We source all of our cocoa, cocoa butter, raw cane sugar, whole cane sugar, and coffee through fair trade, guaranteeing our customers the highest quality raw materials, paying a quality bonus for our premium cocoa, and ensuring full physical traceability. We work with our raw material suppliers as equal partners and rely on long-term relationships to consistently achieve the highest quality standards. The fair trade content and each individually fair-traded ingredient are marked with an asterisk (*) and clearly indicated on every product’s packaging. Not all ingredients come from the Global South – for example, whole milk powder sourced from Tyrol, Austria. For this reason, the fair trade content is 100% only in pure dark chocolates made exclusively from cocoa and sugar. All other products also include ingredients from Austria, the EU, or other regions.
For more information visit Fair Trade & Cocoa Sources
100% BEAN-TO-BAR: Zotter chocolates are produced starting from the bean in our bean-to-bar chocolate factory.
For more information visit Bean-to-Bar Production
All the ingredients for the chocolate come from ORGANIC cultivation. The number of the organic board of control servesas identifying information. ORGANIC control number:Â AT-BIO-402
All our products containing dairy don’t carry the USDA Organic Seal anymore, as there is an exemption in the organic equivalency agreement between the U.S. and the EU when it comes to the use of antibiotics. While in the US an animal which has been treated with antibiotics cannot be used in the production ever again, the EU allows a certain wait time until the animal can be used again for the production of dairy. It still means our products are 100% organic certified in the EU, but they are not in the US. All our vegan, dairy free products are also 100% USDA organic certified. Each product page has more detailed information on the ingredients tab.
The protection of the environment is a very important aspect of our corporate philosophy. Our environmental protection and our environmental measures are ISO 14001 and EMAS certified. EMAS-certified companies are recorded in a Europe-wide register and are regularly checked and monitored on a national level by environmental experts approved by the environment department.
Here you can find Zotter‘s environmental declaration in German online.
Organic
The entire Zotter range including rarities like Bird’s Eye Chili and Marc de Champagne is produced in ORGANIC quality. “For us it was important to not merely produce a niche product with an organic label, but to shift the entire range to organic cultivation. Since we have built on quality and regional culture right from the start and refrained from the use of preservatives, artificial flavors and similar shiny products from the chemical industry, it was a matter of consistently pursuing our organic philosophy.”
US Organic Handler Certificate
All our products containing dairy don’t carry the USDA Organic Seal anymore, as there is an exemption in the organic equivalency agreement between the U.S. and the EU when it comes to the use of antibiotics. While in the US an animal which has been treated with antibiotics cannot be used in the production ever again, the EU allows a certain wait time until the animal can be used again for the production of dairy. It still means our products are 100% organic certified in the EU, but they are not in the US. All our vegan, dairy free products are also 100% USDA organic certified. Each product page has more detailed information on the ingredients tab.
Fair Trade
We maintain direct relationships with our cocoa cooperatives. We pay quality premiums for exceptional cocoa and support our partners in prioritizing quality and cultivating fine-flavor varieties such as Criollo, Trinitario, Chuncho, Nacional, and Nativo.
This approach allows the cooperatives to remain independent of the global commodity market, which is largely focused on lower-grade bulk cocoa. We regularly travel to cocoa-growing regions to meet our partners in person, and we welcome them to visit us at our chocolate factory in return. Truly special, top-quality products can only be created through strong partnerships and personal, friendly relationships.
Fair-trade organic cocoa from small-scale, diversified farms is the foundation of fine flavor and outstanding quality. It also helps protect cultural heritage, both human and botanical.
Think Green
Zotter’s success is living proof that ecologically and socially sound business practices are economically viable. Zotter is one of the most sustainable companies in Austria. The company’s holistic concept, which follows on from the decision only to use organic and fair traded ingredients, is evolving and progressing continuously. We have also gained an EMAS certificate: external environmental experts assessed our production life cycle and our environmental goals and found them exemplary.
For more information visit “Think Green“
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*All our products containing dairy don’t carry the USDA Organic Seal anymore, as there is an exemption in the organic equivalency agreement between the U.S. and the EU when it comes to the use of antibiotics. While in the US an animal which has been treated with antibiotics cannot be used in the production ever again, the EU allows a certain wait time until the animal can be used again for the production of dairy. It still means our products are 100% organic certified in the EU, but they are not in the US. All our vegan, dairy free products are also 100% USDA organic certified. Each product page has more detailed information on the ingredients tab.
