Harry Specters

Is Harry Specters the most ethical and sustainable chocolate?

Harry Specters is a Nestlé chocolate brand that is listed in The Good Shopping Guide’s Ethical Chocolate Ratings Table. Although Harry Specters has not yet met our ethical principles, we anticipate that the brand will improve in the future. A brand must comply with a number of different qualities in order for us to award Ethical Accreditation and Harry Specter does meet some of them. Find out more about How We Rate.

But there is still a lot of opportunity for ethical improvement. For Harry Specters, for instance, there aren’t any Fairtrade chocolate options currently available. Now more than ever, consumers know the benefits of using ingredients that have been responsibly harvested. Purchasing Fairtrade goods ensures that a fair salary is paid to all those involved in the production process, from start to finish.

Harry Specters like many other brands owned by Nestlé, does not sell Fairtrade products. We would have extra confidence in this brand if it submitted itself to apply for Ethical Accreditation, whereby The Good Shopping Guide would be able to make a further detailed assessment and provide recommendations for ethical improvement.

We acknowledge that there is a lot of room for improvement by this brand, but we are confident that this brand can become Ethically Accredited in the future. Find out more about the ethical issues faced by Chocolate brands and see how other brands score in our Ethical Chocolate Ratings Tables.

What does Harry Specters do and what is its history?

Mona started Harry Specters after learning that her son, Ash, had autism. Mona and her husband were quite worried about Ash’s future, as are many parents of autistic children. They were aware that this concern was common through talking to the parents of other autistic youngsters. Mona, an enthusiastic baker, and lover of all things chocolate came up with the first concept for the business while visiting a chocolate shop in Scotland. She found the ideal method to combine her enthusiasm for bringing about change for autistic people with her love of chocolate.

In every piece of Harry Specters chocolate is the promise that it has improved the life of an autistic person. You’ll find the hustling and bustling chocolate factory in Cambridgeshire, where autistic people are involved in every aspect of the business – from making and packaging the products to administration, design, and photography.

For which criteria does Harry Specters perform poorly? 

Even though Harry Specters consistently ranks well among ethical chocolate brands, there are some unresolved difficulties with the company. These unresolved issues include having no Organic products available, not offering Vegetarian and Vegan options, and the lack of Fairtrade products available. Nestlé stated that it could only track 49% of its purchases back to the farm level in 2019, making it impossible for them to guarantee that its chocolate products were free from child slave labour.

The Washington Post reported that the pledge made in 2001 to end these activities in 4 years had not been honoured, not by the original date of 2005 nor by the revised deadlines of 2008 and 2010. It also noted that it was unlikely that any further objectives would be met either.

In what areas does Harry Specters score well for its ethics?

Harry Specters does score above our benchmark in imperative categories such as having an Environmental Report, investment in Nuclear power, Animal Welfare, and Armaments.

For more information about Ethical Accreditation…

If your ethical chocolate brand or product could benefit from Ethical Accreditation by The Good Shopping Guide, you can start exploring the process by filling out an initial assessment form.