Welcome to our new blog

This blog is dedicated to investment in Fair Trade and cooperatives and to the investment community of Equal Exchange in particular. We hope to get to know each better other and explore together how we can advance our common wealth.
Business as usual is destroying our planet, so need some unusual businesses. At Equal Exchange we [...]

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Coffee Cupping – breaking the crust

Two weeks ago, we did a coffee cupping at the offices of our friends and investors Trillium Asset Management. I joined Alistair, and Beth Ann and Mike from our Quality Control team, for a two-hour tasting.
Thinking about coffee cupping with Brokers and Bankers, I didn’t expect everything to be very relaxed and open. Yet beginning [...]

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A Social Capitalist Award – for us

Back in April, I went to Washington, D.C., to collect a Social Capitalist Award presented by Fast Company. There were 10 for-profit companies and 35 non-profits that met the Award’s criteria: check them out. Two of our financial friends, Calvert Foundation and Root Capital, were also winners.
The Award has been around for five years, but [...]

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The nickel is coming. Thank you.

On June 1, 2008, the official Fair Trade minimum price for coffee goes up five cents.
Didn’t it go up last year? Why, yes it did. In 2007, FLO (the Fair Trade standards body) raised prices 5-10 cents. But Equal Exchange and many of our 100% Fair Trade colleagues felt that wasn’t enough. We could have [...]

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Across 20 years, and now?

First, a quick introduction. I’m Rob Everts, one of Equal Exchange’s co-presidents and a first-time guest blogger. Welcome to our new blog.
Two decades ago we started engaging Americans in how their food overseas was sourced and committed to building an alternative vision of international trade from the prevailing “race to the bottom.” [...]

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Our CD, loved by farmers and bankers alike

So it’s oldish news, but this is a new blog, so below are a few links to articles about our innovative Equal Exchange CD (certificate of deposit). Offered through Wainwright bank, it’s a simple direct way to invest $1,000 or more in Equal Exchange and Fair Trade, and receive a competitive rate of interest. Farmers [...]

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Small Farmers, Big Change

That’s our new message at Equal Exchange. Many looked long and hard for something pithy to capture our intent, and are happy it came out so straightforwardly.
Small Farmers
That’s who we support. Not plantations, not factories, not agribusiness.
Big Change
This is more ambiguous, so let’s start off with what it’s not.
It’s not Big Attempt, or Big Profile: [...]

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