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It Just Got Tastier

by Sunmin Kim
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Though Ben & Jerry's couldn't get any better? You'd be wrong: Last week, the ice-cream extraordinaire brand joined 30 companies in signing the "Employer's Amicus Brief," which asks the Supreme Court to step in and not, for any reason, let state governments stop a business from giving same-sex marriage rights to its employees. Basically, Ben & Jerry's supports LGBT rights as much as you do — so it's good right to the core. (Geddit?)

Even better? Ben & Jerry's has a long, storied history of supporting their LGBT employees and championing LGBT rights. For the month of September back in 2009, they renamed the crowd-favorite Chubby Hubby — a vanilla malt ice cream with fudge and peanut butter swirls and pretzel nuggets — to Hubby Hubby, in a celebration of same-sex marriage in Vermont, where their facilities are located.

And in August last year, they renamed their Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough to "I Dough, I Dough" in Australia to show their support for marriage equality. (Which is, unfortunately, still an uphill battle).

As for rights for their own employees, which is what the Amicus Brief addresses, Ben & Jerry's were one of the first companies to offer same sex domestic benefits. But ever since same-sex marriage laws were kicked down to state level last year with the Defense of Marriage Act, there's been a series of lawsuits against states that ban same-sex marriages.

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According to Ben & Jerry's, this shows that the issue "requires a federal ruling to truly and finally resolve it," which is why they and the 30 other companies on the Amicus Brief — including Amazon, CBS, eBay, Nike, Target and Intel — are starting with what they can resolve: equal rights their employees.

A certified B Corporation, Ben & Jerry's are also active supporters of GMO labeling, climate justice, and fair trade, just to name a few. For social entrepreneurs in Asia and Europe, they host an annual competition with Ashoka, giving out a prize grant of 10,000 euros, plus providing business mentoring. Whew. Their parent company, the Dutch-British giant, Unilever, is also a global leader in their own class for corporate social responsibility, winning awards from GlobeScan in sustainability leadership and from PwC in Public Trust.

As for special flavors for this occasion, it hasn't been announced yet whether the company will be releasing any new ones. Nonetheless, standing up for what you believe in has never tasted better, right?