From supporting regenerative and ethical cacao farming, to exploring lower-impact shipping methods, to choosing environmentally conscious packaging, we are committed to continually improving the way we make chocolate for the benefit of both people and the planet.
Your chocolate purchases support Amazon River cleanup!
The project is called #projetoSUPaneiro, run by Super Acao Standup. Owners Ruy Montalvao and Thaissa Scerne take volunteers throughout the year to paddle on SUPs and grab litter from rivers and tributaries in the Amazon Delta region (where our owner Mariano grew up). River-Sea's contributions pay for supplies, lunches, boat rentals, recording equipment, and create jobs.
A second aspect of our support funds educational eco-fitness programs, where low-income children learn SUP and embrace environmental stewardship along the way!
Pioneering Pollution Free Trade
April 18, 2019
We welcomed our first shipment of sustainably grown and sail transported cacao aboard the Tres Hombres, a cargo vessel powered entirely by wind. Under the helm of Captain Remi Lavergne, the ship arrived at the Port of Morehead City on April 18, 2019, marking the beginning of River-Sea Chocolates' commitment to supporting pollution free transatlantic shipping.
December 15, 2022
After a pause during the global pandemic, we resumed our sail cargo partnership with a second voyage. The Avontuur docked at Port Everglades carrying two tons of Zorzal cacao from the Dominican Republic and 1,500 pounds of coffee from Colombia. This shipment demonstrated once again that wind powered cargo transport is a practical, emission free shipping option for small businesses.
River-Sea Chocolates has partnered with Singing Rooster, a nonprofit organization that connects Haitian farmers with international markets while supporting entrepreneurship, community development, and locally led economic growth.
Over the past three years, we have purchased more than 21 tons of cacao through Singing Rooster, making River-Sea Chocolates their largest cacao buyer. Our founder, Mariano D'Aguiar, regularly visits Haiti to work alongside farmers and cooperative leaders, providing guidance on fermentation, drying, and post-harvest practices that improve flavor quality and help producers access higher-value specialty cacao markets.
Haiti produces approximately 8,000 tons of cacao annually, though much of it is exported through the Dominican Republic and sold without recognition of its origin. By purchasing directly and highlighting Haitian cacao, we hope to help preserve Haiti's identity as a fine cacao producing nation.
These close partnerships also allow us to verify environmentally responsible farming practices and ensure our cacao is produced without child or forced labor. Today, Haitian cacao is used in many of our milk chocolate bars, inclusion bars, truffles, and hot chocolate.
The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is a unique coastal mountain range where snow-capped peaks rise above the Caribbean Sea. Our cacao is grown by Indigenous farming communities using traditional methods alongside development programs that provide sustainable economic alternatives to coca cultivation.
Krissee and Mariano traveled to Santa Marta to meet the farmers, facilitators, suppliers, and the crew of the Tres Hombres, the wind-powered cargo ship that transported this cacao across the Atlantic. Visiting origin allows us to better understand the people behind each harvest and strengthen the relationships that make transparent sourcing possible.
Reserva Zorzal is a 1,019-acre bird sanctuary and organic cacao farm located in the northern mountains of the Dominican Republic. It was the first cacao farm in the world to receive the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center's Bird Friendly® certification, recognizing farming practices that protect migratory bird habitat while producing exceptional cacao.
We source Zorzal cacao because it demonstrates that high-quality cacao production and wildlife conservation can work together, helping protect critical habitat while supporting local farming communities.
Brazil is Mariano's home country, and he regularly travels there to work with cacao producers throughout the Amazon, sharing technical knowledge and strengthening long-term relationships with farming communities.
One of our most distinctive chocolates, the Xiba 72% Dark Chocolate, is crafted from wild-grown cacao that is hand-harvested from the Amazon rainforest. Unlike cultivated cacao, these native trees grow naturally within the forest ecosystem.
On Saracá Island, local communities have harvested wild cacao for generations. Because cacao provides an income while the forest remains intact, it creates an economic incentive to protect native rainforest rather than convert it to logging, cattle ranching, or slash-and-burn agriculture. By supporting responsibly harvested wild cacao, we help demonstrate that conserving standing forests can also support sustainable livelihoods.
When it came time to redesign our packaging, we wanted to find a solution that balanced environmental responsibility with the practical needs of craft chocolate.
Many compostable packages we evaluated began to break down after only a few months, making them unsuitable for chocolate that is intentionally aged to allow flavors to mature. After extensive research, we selected a package that provides excellent protection against oxygen and moisture while maintaining an 18 month shelf life.
Each package features a resealable zipper to help keep chocolate fresh after opening, and both the pouch and zipper are certified for home and industrial composting.
The artwork was commissioned from Arlington artist and George Mason University graduate Sam Metzler. Each flavor features its own hand drawn zentangle mandala, inspired by the unique story behind the chocolate inside.
