Equal Exchange — Pioneer in Fair Trade and Nonprofit Distribution
Equal Exchange is a company founded in 1986 and is devoted to fair trade; in fact, it has been one of the pioneers in the fair trade movement. The three communities it aims to help through this devotion are 1) small family farmers, 2) the environment and global community, and 3) employees of the company. This business innovation and devotion to fair trade has not gone unnoticed. It was awarded the Small Business Association of New England Innovation Award in 2006 and the Business Ethics Magazine Award for Stakeholder Relations in 2000. The company has taken the interesting approach of partnering with non-profits with similar goals to help promote sales and increase distribution. These partnerships have ranged from international peace activism to faith-based groups. The partnerships have paid off for Equal Exchange: 25% of its sales are from faith-based organizations. One example of how these symbiotic relationships between non-profits and the company take-off is that of Equal Exchange and the Central American Solidarity Movement. Both the company and nonprofit wanted to promote peace and help small, exploited farmers during this time of chaos in the region. So Equal Exchange introduced Café Salvador to help small farmers in El Salvador during the civil war. The nonprofit helped to market the coffee as an alternative to Folgers to put pressure on Folgers to in turn use its power to push for a ceasefire. This unique partnership helped the company fulfill its mission of supporting fair trade, and helped to push for a political solution to an international conflict. Rodney North, employee and board member of Equal Exchange, stresses that much of the success in these partnerships is due to patience. Especially in partnering with Lutheran World Relief, both organizations took plenty of time to do their due diligence and ensure that their goals were compatible. Communication regarding what exactly each organization wanted out of the partnership helped to guarantee a long-lasting synergistic partnership rather than a short term arrangement. Furthermore, they began with a very small pilot program to make sure that the congregations would receive the project well. The result was the unorthodox relationship whereby Equal Exchange employees educate congregations about fair trade and international work conditions, and the faith based organizations distribute, market, and sell Equal Exchange products. This link to Faith based groups brings Equal Exchange to the perfect demographic group: people concerned about helping and gathered in a place where they often consume coffee and snacks. Every year, Equal Exchange ships products to 6,000 places of worship, with faith based organization sales representing $4 million in revenues last year. Contrary to common belief, coffee and tea are not the only products that can be fair trade certified. Equal Exchange also sells fair trade sugar, cocoa, and chocolate bars. All of these products are offered through non-profit partners, as they all support the goal of helping to empower small family farmers. Equal Exchange’s official mission is to: “build long-term trade partnerships that are economically just and environmentally sound, to foster mutually beneficial relationships between farmers and consumers and to demonstrate, through [their] success, the contribution of worker cooperatives and Fair Trade to a more equitable, democratic and sustainable world.” To this end, Equal Exchange is itself a cooperative, worker-owned and democratically run. Just like the coops from which it insists on buying products. Workers also donate 10% of profits to fellow fair trade organizations annually, and make donations in kind to nonprofits across the country. Much of the inspiration for employees comes from the mission of the company itself, and the organizations it works with. By Louise Doyle Based on interview with Rodney North, member of the worker cooperative and board of directors of Equal Exchange, conducted by Susan Hyatt. More information on Equal Exchange can be found at: http://www.equalexchange.com/
