| Equal Exchange is a
United States (US) for-profit company dedicated
to fair trade, ethical consumerism, and sustainable
agriculture.
The largest certified fair trade coffee company
in North America, Equal Exchange connects coffee
consumers in the United States and Canada with
small-scale, democratically-run, and ecologically-responsible
farming cooperatives in Latin America, Africa,
and Asia. Equal Exchange offers a socially, economically,
and environmentally responsible approach to trade
by buying directly from coffee farmers in developing
countries, paying a fair price, providing small
farmers with affordable credit, supporting democratic
cooperatives, and encouraging organic and shade-grown
farming practices. Through its Interfaith Coffee
Program, Equal Exchange works with religious institutions
and organizations to raise awareness about fair
trade, promote ethical consumerism, and encourage
individuals and institutions to switch to fairly-traded
coffee. In addition to facilitating this switch
by offering wholesale prices on its coffee to religious
organizations, communities, and houses of worship,
the program encourages congregational fundraising
for social, economic, and environmental justice
efforts through the sale of Equal Exchange coffee.
Through this program, Equal Exchange also provides
educational materials about fair trade, sustainable
agriculture, global justice, and responsible consumerism
to religious congregations, organizations, and
individuals. |
| Inter-religious |
| North America |
| 1997–Present |
Equal Exchange was
founded in 1986 as a worker-owned cooperative
dedicated
to fair trade, responsible consumerism, and sustainable
farming. Thinking that their ethical approach
to trade and consumption might appeal to religious
communities, Equal Exchange collaborated with
Lutheran
World Relief to launch the Interfaith Coffee
Program in 1997. Religious institutions and organizations
quickly became the company’s fastest-growing
business sector. The program now includes six
different denominational organizations and more
than 5,000 individual
houses of worship and religious organizations
in the United States.
|
| Equal Exchange seeks “to build
long-term trade partnerships that are economically
just and environmentally sound, to foster mutually
beneficial relations between farmers and consumers,
and to demonstrate through our success the viability
of worker-owned cooperatives and fair trade.” |
American Friends Service
Committee
Brethren Witness
Lutheran World Relief
Presbyterian Church (USA)
Unitarian Universalist
Service Committee
United Methodist Committee on
Relief |
| None Listed |
| None Listed |
| None Listed |
Equal Exchange
Interfaith Coffee Program
251 Revere Street
Canton, MA 02021
Ph: 781.830.0303
x228
Fax: 781.830.0282
Email: interfaith@equalexchange.com |
