Specially prepared Tesla Model S used for delivering Ben & Jerry’s new Save Our Swirled ice cream. [Source: Ben & Jerry’s]
Ben & Jerry’s kicked off its campaign to raise awareness about the impact of global climate change by delivering its new Save Our Swirled ice cream flavor at the Tesla Fremont factory.
Ben & Jerry’s reached out to Tesla to help promote Save Our Swirled and Tesla responded by building a specially modified Model S. What better way to promote climate change awareness than a 100% electric car? The revamped Model S can fit more than 1,000 scoops worth of ice cream inside and features a “Climate Action” station in the front trunk where ice cream aficionados can sign a climate change petition with Ben & Jerry’s nonprofit partner, Avaaz.
The Vermont based company is known for its advocacy on social issues and even employs one Christopher Miller as its social mission activism manager. The new flavor features raspberry ice cream streaked with marshmallow and raspberry swirls and chunks of dark and white fudge ice cream cone.
Every carton is printed with the link customers can use to sign a petition calling on world leaders to work toward 100 percent clean energy by 2050, beginning at the United Nations climate summit in Paris this December. It's in stores in the US now, will hit Europe in September, and will go worldwide by the end of 2015.
Is there some hidden message in the mix of ingredients in Save Our Swirled? Not really, says Chris Miller; it just tastes good. But climate change could profoundly affect some of its main ingredients, such as vanilla sourced from Madagascar and cocoa from Uganda.
“We work with specific small co-ops in Uganda and Madagascar, and if the climate changes, that may make growing vanilla and cocoa really hard,” Miller says. “We’re interested in the plight of our suppliers and the people we work with.”
Miller doesn’t think Ben & Jerry’s will have any trouble rallying people to their cause. “My background is in issue advocacy — I worked for Greenpeace, and I’ve spent most of my career trying to engage people on issues,” he said. “But people just respond to Ben & Jerry’s in a way that they don’t for other products. There’s something magic about ice cream.”
Just as there is something magic about the Tesla Model S.
Source: Yahoo Food