Equal Exchange started in 1986 with a simple idea: what if food could be traded in a way that empowers both farmers and consumers? We seek out the best-tasting ingredients from small farming cooperatives around the world who are democratically organized, sharing resources and decision-making among their members. We proudly offer fairly traded coffee, tea, chocolate, cocoa, bananas, olive oil, avocados, nuts and dried fruits and import them as directly as possible. We expect no less from ourselves than we ask of our farmer partners. For that reason we have chosen to organize ourselves as a worker co-op, an alternative business model based on democratic principles.

Equal Exchange believes that by organizing together, we can build a stronger, more democratic food system that puts power back in the hands of small farmer communities, alternative traders, and citizen-consumers.