SUPPLIER
—
Stated attributes
Publicly stated commitments — not necessarily independently verified.
Alter Eco
Food & BeverageHeadquartered in United States
Alter Eco is a San Francisco-based food company that produces organic chocolate, truffles, quinoa, and rice products sourced from smallholder farming cooperatives primarily in South America and Southeast Asia. The company markets its products in North America and Europe with an emphasis on fair trade and organic sourcing. Alter Eco was founded in 2003 and has positioned itself within the natural and organic food segment.
- Fair Trade Certified ↗
- Climate Neutral ↗
- USDA Organic ↗
- B Corp ↗
- Fair Trade
- Net-zero target
- Sustainable packaging
- Waste reduction
- No child labor
- Supplier code of conduct
How Alter Eco scores
Three pillars, scored independently. Higher is better.
-
Environmental96.9Likely great
-
Labor83.1Likely great
-
Compliance73.5Likely great
What Alter Eco does well
-
B Corp Certified
Alter Eco has held B Corporation certification from B Lab, reflecting assessed performance across environmental, social, and governance criteria. The company has maintained this certification across multiple recertification cycles.
-
Fair Trade Certified
Alter Eco's products carry Fair Trade USA and Fair Trade International certification, requiring minimum price floors, fair trade premiums paid to farming cooperatives, and standards prohibiting child and forced labor in the supply chain.
-
Compostable Packaging Initiative
Alter Eco introduced compostable wrappers for its chocolate bar line, described as one of the first compostable chocolate wrappers in the United States, as reported in company sustainability communications and covered by trade press around 2016–2018.
-
Organic Certification
Alter Eco products are certified USDA Organic, requiring that ingredients are grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers and meet federal organic handling standards.
The detail
Environment
Alter Eco has pursued carbon neutrality certification for its products and has publicly committed to regenerative agriculture practices, including supporting agroforestry programs in its cacao-sourcing regions. The company uses compostable packaging for several of its product lines, a practice it has highlighted in its sustainability communications. Alter Eco has partnered with the Canopy Project and similar organizations to fund reforestation efforts linked to its supply chain. According to the company's published sustainability materials, it measures and offsets Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, though independent third-party verification of these figures beyond certification-body audits is limited in public documentation.
Labor
Alter Eco sources cacao primarily from cooperatives in Ecuador and Peru, and quinoa from cooperatives in Bolivia, and holds Fair Trade USA and Fair Trade International certifications that require minimum price guarantees, community development premiums, and prohibitions on child and forced labor. The company publishes information about its cooperative partners and the communities they support, including named cooperatives such as CECAO in Ecuador. Detailed supplier audit reports and wage data beyond what is disclosed through fair trade certification bodies are not extensively published in the public domain. The company is a certified B Corporation, which includes a social performance assessment covering worker conditions.
Alter Eco products on Amazon
24 products from Alter Eco, sold on Amazon (US). Leif earns a commission on qualifying purchases.
Leif's rating reflects an independent sustainability assessment of the brand — drawing on
disclosures, third-party certifications, and public information on its practices — not customer reviews.
Ratings are directional, not precise scores.
Read how we rate.
New to this? Learn how to spot greenwashing
and what each certification actually proves.