Green Initiatives

We are intentional in all that we do, accountable for our impact as we create chocolate with a worldview.

At Vosges Haut-Chocolat we continually strive towards a greener product, workplace and production facility. With each small step, we reach towards a future of less impact on the environment. The steps we have taken:

• – We are powered by wind! Vosges Haut-Chocolat is proud to announce that our chocolate is produced using 100% renewable energy. Our boutiques in Chicago, New York and Las Vegas also run on 100% renewable energy. Learn more at www.renewablechoice.com.
• – Our facility and production processes have been certified as an organic manufacturing facility.
• – Whenever possible, we buy organic ingredients for our products. We use organic sugar, butter, cream and nuts in our chocolate confections. Our new organic chocolate is also Rainforest Alliance certified. Rainforest Alliance encourages cocoa farming practices that are sustainable over the long term by maintaining a healthy environment, decent working conditions and fair wages. The Alliance works to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behavior.

• – At Vosges we are continuously sourcing sustainable and biodegradable options for our packaging.
• – All of our candy bar boxes are recyclable and this year will be made from 100% recycled material, containing at least 60% post consumer content.
• – We use PLA (a plastic made from cornstarch that is compostable) for any plastic boxes and lids.
• – We use paper that is at least 10% post consumer/recycled for all printed materials, including press folders, insert cards and wraps. Whenever possible, we use vegetable and soy based inks for printing.
• – Our purple boxes are made from 100% recycled material.
• – We love to find second or third uses for our packaging to cut down on waste. Although our purple boxes are already made from 100% recycled board, reusing them again keeps them out of the landfill. Some of our regular customers have created innovative alternate uses for our signature purple packaging, including: storage for office supplies, sorting items in their dresser drawers, reusing purple satin ribbon on gifts or in hair, or even jewelry storage.

• – Our shipping boxes are made from recycled cardboard and embellished with our logo—printed with water based purple ink.
• – Our shipping department has switched from Styrofoam peanuts to air–filled bags that create much less waste in each package. Our bags are now made from 100% post consumer waste and are biodegradable.
• – When temperatures rise, we ship our chocolate using 100% recyclable white coolers that can be shipped back to our facility for reuse at no additional charge to our customers.

• – We recycle our printer cartridges with Cartridge World in Chicago, a company that shares our green mission. Our IT department drops off old/non–functioning computers and hardware at Best Buy to be recycled and safely disposed of.
• – Every piece of paper in our office is either reused in our printers or recycled.
• – We have recycling programs for our corporate office, manufacturing facility and retail stores.
• – We have recently partnered with a Chicago based non profit organization called Created Pitch. Creative Pitch coordinates the donations of materials from participating companies, which would otherwise be thrown away, to art educators in the city of Chicago. These educators use the materials for art projects for extremely under funded arts programs. Vosges donates old display truffle boxes, parchment paper, truffle trays, tubes, ribbon from both the assembly line and our Chicago boutiques, and much, much more. Visit www.creativepitch.org for more information, and to see how you can get involved.