Green & Black's was founded in 1991 by the couple Craig Sams and Josephine Fairley, organic food pioneer and journalist respectively.

The name was derived from a wordplay — "Green" standing for the environmental concerns of the founders, and "Black" for the high cocoa solids chocolate they wished to provide.

[4] In August 2017 the company launched its first product line, the Velvet Edition, which is neither Fair Trade nor Organic.

[5] In a 2022 review conducted by independent testing company, Consumer Reports, Green & Black's Organic Dark Chocolate 70% Cacao bar was found to exceed California's maximum allowable dose level (MADL) for lead and cadmium.

On 15 October 2012 Mondelēz Global LLC conducted voluntary U.S. recall of Green & Black's organic peanut and sea salt milk chocolate bar due to possible health risk.