Equal Exchange facts for kids
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| cooperative | |
| Founded | 1986 |
| Headquarters | , |
| Products | coffee, tea, sugar, chocolate, bananas, avocados, olive oil |
| Revenue |  US$70,079,000 (2016) |
| US$1,524,561 (2016) |
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| Total assets | US$36,935,863 (2016) |
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Number of employees
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126 |
Equal Exchange is a special company based in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts. It is a "worker-owned cooperative," which means the people who work there also own and run the business. They are known for selling "Fairtrade" products. This means they make sure farmers around the world get a fair price for their crops.
The company sells many delicious organic foods. These include coffee, tea, sugar, bananas, avocados, and chocolate bars. These products come from farmer groups in places like Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Equal Exchange started in 1986. It is the oldest and largest Fair Trade coffee company in the United States.
How Equal Exchange Started
Equal Exchange was founded in 1986 by three friends: Rink Dickinson, Jonathan Rosenthal, and Michael Rozyne. Before starting Equal Exchange, they worked as managers at a food cooperative. They were very interested in making the food industry better for everyone.
For three years, these founders met every week. They talked about how to change global food trade. Their goal was to help farmers earn more money and have a more stable life. They came up with a new way of trading.
This new way involved trading directly with farmers. They also made long-term agreements and offered prices higher than the usual market rates. This was different from the old way of trading. In the past, buyers often used many middlemen to get coffee beans from large farms.
Equal Exchange Cafés
Equal Exchange also runs three cafés in the United States. You can find these cafés in Washington, Illinois, and Ohio. At these cafés, you can enjoy Equal Exchange tea, coffee, and espresso drinks. They also serve tasty pastries, sandwiches, and other lunch items from local businesses.
Equal Exchange in the UK
There is also an Equal Exchange cooperative in the United Kingdom. It works closely with Equal Exchange US. Both companies share many of the same products and work with the same farmer cooperatives. They both sell coffee, chocolate, and cocoa products, among other things. In 2017, the UK company officially became part of Equal Exchange US.
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