New flavour “Cone Together” highlights the need for a more coordinated, compassionate response to the reality of displacement
Ice cream activists Ben & Jerry’s is standing with progressive NGOs and refugee charities across Europe to launch “Cone Together”, a new flavour created to call for the rights of refugees to be advanced and protected.
The new awareness-raising flavour was unveiled by co-founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield at the first-ever UN Global Refugee Forum in Geneva.
Elected politicians, business leaders, activists, and experts from around the world gathered at the Forum to find a way forward to enable the more than 70 million people who have been forced to leave their homes to be able to rebuild their lives in safety.
Ben & Jerry’s, supported by Refugee Action, Sea Watch, Red Acoge and others, believes that leaders can choose to create a fairer system that upholds the dignity and rights of people who have been displaced.
At the Global Refugee Forum, Ben & Jerry’s pledged to mobilise more than 250,000 of its fans over the next three years through activism campaigns. The company will also grow its refugee entrepreneurship programme, Ice Academy.
Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen said: “Progress is possible when enough people come together and demand better. We believe in using our business and our connection with our fans to highlight important issues and help them take action. The truth is people’s lives are being wasted, communities damaged and families separated – and it’s a choice our leaders don’t have to keep making.”
Stephen Hale OBE, Chief Executive of Refugee Action, said: “People are being forced from their homes due to violence, persecution and environmental disasters. Our political leaders must respond with respect and compassion and create fair and effective immigration systems. We can all play a part by coming together and holding our governments to account.”
Matthew McCarthy, CEO of Ben & Jerry’s, said: “We are proud to stand in solidarity with those who believe that all people have rights, no exceptions, and that refugees are welcome. Refugees and people seeking asylum are our family, our friends and our neighbours. The moment is now for our leaders to rewrite the rules that allow people to participate in our communities and raise their families in safety.”
Inside the new tub, ice cream lovers will find Fairtrade vanilla ice cream, with chocolatey covered waffle cone pieces and a salted caramel swirl. A portion of the proceeds of Ben & Jerry’s new tub will support six progressive organisations working to honour the rights of refugees. You can find the awareness raising flavour in stores across the UK from the start of February.
Cone Together is the latest step in Ben & Jerry’s multi-year refugee advocacy work. Tens of thousands of Ben & Jerry’s fans have already joined the company in this effort, including the Right to Work campaign in the UK and Start with a Friend in Germany.
To learn more about the flavour and the company’s commitment to bringing people together, go to our website..
