Ben & Jerry's celebrates gay marriage with brand name change

Ben & Jerry's has tied up with equal rights group Freedom to Marry as part of the move, which aims to drive awareness of gay marriage.

The ice cream brand is also set to hand out free ice cream from a wedding themed truck across the state.

However the brand, bought by Unilever in 2000 for about £203m, has admitted the support for gay marriage does not extend to rebranding the actual tubs. Although Ben & Jerry's has not ruled out renaming the brand, it said it would need another 18 months to revise its labelling.

Ben & Jerry's chief executive officer Walt Freese said: "At the core of Ben & Jerry's values we believe that social justice can and should be something that every human being is entitled to. From the very beginning of our 30-year history, we have supported equal rights for all people."

In April Ben & Jerry's launched a Fairtrade-aligned competition in 12 countries offering consumers the chance to win a trip with the founding duo to the Dominican Republic.

To enter the 'Do the World a Flavour' competition consumers needed to create their own flavour and brand of ice cream.

Winners from each country were invited to travel with the two Ben & Jerry's founders to the Dominican Republic to see how the Fairtrade association has benefited local communities.