Back when I was at school, in the middle of the last century, we were taught about the great Victorian philanthropist industrialists, and foremost in these families were the Cadbury clan. The Cadburys were Quakers. That doesn’t mean they just ate porridge, but does mean they were devout Christians and pacifists.
In 2010 Cadbury was bought by Kraft Foods and in 2012 sold to a US based confectionery multi-national called Mondelez.
In 2023 Ukraine designated Mondelez an “international sponsor of war” as they still operate factories and pay taxes in Russia. The campaign group B4Ukraine in a statement said, “The values that built Cadbury, values of community, fairness and pacifism, are not just history, they are principles that today are sorely in need of defending.” They are also calling for the royal warrant granted to Cadbury to be rescinded, just as has happened in Sweden.
Dirk Van de Put, the Mondelez chief executive, told the Financial Times in February that their investors do not “morally care” if businesses stay in Russia, and the Mondelez European president complains about Mondelez being “singled out” for criticism.
Unilever, one of the other bastions of Victorian philanthropy, has just sold it’s Russian operation after 2 years of paying tax into the Russian exchequer.
If you thought sanctions against Russia were an effective weapon, try Googling “How to buy a Rolls Royce in Moscow” or follow this link to the top listed site.
Do we “morally care” about companies operating in Russia? Not many of us can give up buying a Rolls Royce, but we could give up Cadbury’s Dairy Milk.
I tried to find an appropriate video to end this with, but they were all real downers apart from: