Amour du Chocolat, a Japanese Valentine’s chocolate event, has chosen the theme sustainable development goals for this year’s celebration.
Eco-friendly chocolates are making a splash at Amour du Chocolat, Japan’s largest Valentine’s Day chocolate event at JR Tokai Takashimaya in Nagoya. The theme of this year’s event is sustainable development goals (SDG), with products that are produced entirely ethically.
Ryo Ozawa, the CEO of JR Tokai Takashimaya, said the aim of this year’s theme was to seek good design while upholding SDG.
Shinya Sato, the store’s buyer, added, “We want to promote sustainable chocolates that are increasingly becoming popular.” SDG-compatible chocolate is available in department stores across the country.
An example of this is Club Harie’s chocolate-flavoured baumkuchen, which was delivered from a factory in Shiga Prefecture using only emission-friendly means of transport, namely, a Toyota Mirai fuel cell vehicle for the trip from the factory to the station. Then, the product switched on to the Ohmi Railway and a Shinkansen bullet train to Nagoya. In comparison with delivery by truck, this journey on a train reduced carbon dioxide emissions by over 90%.
Amour du Chocolat also featured chocolates made by socially-conscious companies like QUON Chocolate, which released Unjo, a chocolate terrine sprinkled with organically-grown Unjo tea powder from Aichi Prefecture.
La Barca Group, which produces QUON, actively hires people with disabilities. Representative Director Hirotsugu Natsume said, “I want to change the misconception that disable people have difficulty working.”
Dot Science, a Tokyo-based company, uses organically grown edible flowers as decoration for their chocolate. In addition, they use beans made in Mpraeso, helping farmers in Ghana produce high quality cacao. Their “Flower Chocolate” will be offered at Amour du Chocolat.
Mother House, a Tokyo-based bagmaker, is working to establish an international brand and has developed Irodori chocolate bars in twelve colour gradients, all from white chocolate.
Popular flavours include cherry blossom, which is a blend of sweet and sour raspberries and bitter matcha. The cacao beans are sourced from Indonesian farmers who grow their trees to establish biodiversity by planting among other species, opposed to an orchard of solely cacao.
Organic food importer Yakuryo Kaihatsu, offers petites douceurs, or little sweets, developed by French “bio-chocolatier” Jean Michel Mortreau. The small treats are wrapped in Japanese handmade forest-protection certified paper, representing the bond between the consumer and the cacao producer, according to Yakuryo’s Misa Kobayashi.
In the opinion of the chocolatiers, ethical chocolates can extend the love celebrated on Valentine’s Day to planet Earth.
Featured banner image credit: mother-house.hk
Related Articles
Temasek Launches the Asia Sustainable Foods Platform
The 5 Best Coffee Delivery Services in Japan
This Bangkok Startup is Growing the World’s Next Sustainable Superfood
