Certification is a way to improve the cocoa farmers’ state of affairs, by providing them with additional (or at least stable) income and other privileges, conditional on their compliance with certain requirements. Certification informs consumers of the origins of the cocoa and the conditions under which it is being produced.

Certification is used by the industry to market the sustainability of their products. But certification has its limits and still a lot is unknown about the effectiveness and impact of the different standards in place.