Equal Exchange Fair Trade Co-op
Equal Exchange invites us to share in their vision of a better world — a vision that connects us more closely to the food we eat and to the farmers who grow it.
Equal Exchange was instrumental in the very creation of the U.S. Fair Trade food movement! In the 1980’s, their startup company helped introduce fairly traded coffee, the first Fair Trade type of food or beverage, to U.S. grocery stores.
Back then, the specialty coffee industry dismissed their vision of more equitable relationships with farmers as unrealistic. Today there are some 400 coffee companies purchasing at least a small portion of their coffee under Fair Trade terms.
When farmers and workers receive fair wages, they can reinvest in their farms and communities. Reinvested dollars are often used to help preserve the natural environment, fight poverty, enforce child labor rights and safety, combat climate change, increase gender equality, and protect workers’ rights.
Over the past 40 years, Equal Exchange has grown to help create and maintain Fair Trade farming, distribution, and certification systems for coffee, sugar, tea, cocoa, fruit, and nuts. They work with and advocate on behalf of small farmers and small farmer co-ops worldwide.
Equal Exchange is also a 100% employee-owned and employee-governed cooperative, operating on a democratic one-person/one-share/one-vote basis.
