Equal Exchange Fair Trade Fundraising

Equal Exchange Fair Trade Fundraising

I love hearing ideas from readers of Peachy Green about new ways to go green, save the earth, and help other people.  Yesterday, I got a great tip from someone regarding the Equal Exchange Fair Trade Fundraising Program at www.equalexchange.coop/fundraiser.  Since we’ve blogged about fair trade coffee in the past, it only makes sense that we dig a little deeper to see what we can all do – world wide – to help Equal Exchange Fair Trade Fundraising.

Here’s a brief primer on Equal Exchange.  According to its website, the idea started a movement:

What if food could be traded in a way that is honest and fair, a way that empowers both farmers and consumers? What if trade supported family farms that use organic methods, rather than industrialized agribusinesses that rely on harmful chemicals?

The founders of Equal Exchange, Rink Dickinson, Jonathan Rosenthal and Michael Rozyne, asked these questions as they envisioned a trade model that values the farmers, consumers and the earth.  How to fix things?  These brave men started a fair trade coffee company in 1986, and… as the story goes… they didn’t look back!

Today, Equal Exchange continues to find new and powerful ways to build a better food system. Its products include a number of fair trade, organic products, from coffee and tea to chocolate.  For Equal Exchange, the fundraising coop is based in West Bridgewater, MA.  It has partnered with co-operatives of small-scale farmers who make their own decisions on business and community matters.

If you visit the Equal Exchange Website, you’ll see its Guiding Principles:

• Trade directly with democratically organized small farmer cooperatives.
• Facilitate access to credit for producer organizations.
• Pay producers a guaranteed minimum price that provides a stable source of income as well as improved social services.
• Provide high quality food products.
• Support sustainable farming practices.
• Build a democratically-run cooperative workplace.
• Develop more environmentally-sound business practices.

Only you can decide whether participation in – and/or contribution to Equal Exchange makes sense for you.

What would it take to make you want to be the force to make a difference?