Unilever-owned Ben & Jerry’s has partnered with Advancement Project National Office to launch new ice cream flavour Justice ReMix’d in the US as part of its multi-year campaign for criminal justice reform.
The limited-time flavour is described as cinnamon and chocolate ice creams with ‘gobs’ of cinnamon bun dough and spicy fudge brownies and has been introduced to “highlight structural racism in a broken criminal legal system.”
Advancement Project is a national, multi-racial civil rights organisation that works with local grassroots organisers with the aim of supporting movements towards racial justice. When speaking about the US, executive director of Advancement Project, Judith Browne Dianis said: “Our country needs to invest in services that build up communities rather than those that tear them down.
“That means ending a wealth-based pre-trial detention system that locks people up because they are poor, black or brown. It means dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline, divesting from criminalising students and investing in the creation of high-quality education and services. It’s time to reimagine safety and justice.”
As part of its campaign, Ben & Jerry’s is sending its Scoop Truck to various states to initiate conversations and activate community members, while also giving away ice cream. The Scoop Truck has supported the Close the Workhouse Coalition by attending 27 events in St. Louis and generating more than 1500 messages to public officials.
The launch of Justice ReMix’d is not the first time the ice cream brand has voiced its opinions on current social issues. Previous examples include the release of anti-Trump flavour, Pecan Resist last October and One Sweet World in 2017 with the efforts of ‘advancing issues of social and economic justice’.
Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen said: “Our approach to creating social change is to raise up the work non-profits are doing on the ground.
“We bring every resource we have to support them—our business voice, our connection with fans, our Scoop Shop community and of course, ice cream. Somehow, it’s easier to talk about difficult issues over a scoop or two.”
Justice ReMix’d will be available in grocery stores nationwide and in Scoop Shops with a recommended retail price of $4-6. A portion of the proceeds will go towards supporting Advancement Project’s campaigns.
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