Ben & Jerry’s, the Vermont-based makers of divine ice cream, is one of the many reasons I’m proud to live in this state. (And while it’s far from the only reason, it may very well be the yummiest!) Not only do I love their products, but I’m also a big fan of their business model because of the major emphasis it places on social justice and environmental responsibility. I have a hunch that I’m probably not the only one in the TWO community who loves Ben & Jerry’s, but I digress. . .
Well, today — as though any of us needed another reason to love Ben & Jerry’s — the company went and did this: to show support for the push to legalize same-sex marriage in the United Kingdom, Ben & Jerry’s announced that it was renaming its Oh! My! Apple Pie flavor. The new name? Apple-y Ever After. Pints of the new flavor will come in containers displaying a wedding cake with ribbons of rainbow frosting and a cake topper featuring a gay couple.
Marriage equality is an issue that’s near and dear to Ben & Jerry’s. The UK already has “civil partnerships,” a form of relationship recognition for same-sex couples. But on their website, the company takes care to point out that marriage-by-another-name just isn’t good enough: “If you think that Civil Partnership is the same as marriage, think again!”
This is a company that really gets it.
And this isn’t the first time they’ve renamed a flavor to show their support for marriage equality either. In 2009, when the company’s home state of Vermont passed its marriage equality law, Ben & Jerry’s changed the name of Chubby Hubby to Hubby Hubby in celebration (raising the ire of conservative groups in the process, by the way).
That’s it — I’m ending my work day, walking to the grocery store, and buying a pint of Ben & Jerry’s to show my support for this wonderfully pro-LGBT company. (I know my husband will thank me when he returns home!) You should support them, too.
(Photo courtesy of the Advocate.)
