Unlike leading candy manufacturers that deliver sweets in high volume, Theo produces award winning organic chocolate in small batches. The company boasts a bean-to-bar production method that uses cocoa beans grown without pesticides and without harm to farmers or the environment. At Theo Chocolate, the terms organic and fair trade are no mere marketing buzzwords. Organic means that the cocoa beans are grown naturally and harvested in ways that preserve habitats and the balance of the ecosystem; fair trade is a business approach that ensures equity between buyers, as well as fair treatment of workers.

Question

1. What practices at Theo Chocolate illustrate the concept of social responsibility?

2. What does Vice President Debra Music mean when she says that Theo is a “triple bottom line” company? What happens if Theo’s social objectives conflict with the organization’s economic objectives?

3. What does fair trade mean to the leaders at Theo, and how does this relate to workers’ rights and organizational justice?