FAQ

Fair trade is a voluntary program utilized by coffee importers and food companies to create an alternative market for traditionally
disadvantaged producers in developing countries, usually small scale farmers. The components include:

• Targeted purchasing of coffee through democratically organized farmer
  cooperatives;
  
• Agreed upon commodity floor prices that provide for a dignified
  livelihood;
  
• Direct exports by producers;
  
• A promise by importers to make affordable credit available to the farmer
  cooperatives;
  
• A world-wide network of non-profit certifying organizations;
  
• A fee paid by importers and wholesalers to cover the cost of
  certification;
  
• A seal that assures consumers that the product was fairly traded.
  

Fair trade Labeling Organizations International (FLO) in Bonn, Germany handles the certification of production and exports. (www.fairtrade.net)
Transfair USA (www.transfairusa.org) handles the certification of fair trade imports and use of the fair trade seal on packaging for the United
States.

Your purchase of fair trade coffee helps build pride, independence and community empowerment for small farmers and their families. A coffee processing plant in El Salvador, community stores in Columbia, the training of doctors in Mexico, reforestation programs in Costa Rica, new schools in Peru—these are examples of initiatives co-ops have taken in their own communities with the income from fair trade.

At Equal Exchange 100% of our coffee is fair trade certified. Other companies‚ fair trade coffee sales usually constitute only a small percentage of their total sales. In such cases fair trade coffee products are something added on to, and possibly subsided by, a much larger conventional coffee operation.

We were the first company to bring fairly traded coffee to the United States back in 1991, and remained the only organization using the fair trade model until 1998.

Despite the recent entry of significantly larger competitors into the fair trade market, Equal Exchange remains the fair trade leader in sales volume.

Equal Exchange also has a pre-harvest financing program for our co-op suppliers since 1996. Pre-harvest financing provides farmer co-operatives with financial credit when they need it most, at harvest time when the cooperative is competing with local middlemen for coffee deliveries.

As a worker cooperative Equal Exchange operates in the same democratic, equitable, and transparent manner that the fair trade certification system requires of participating farmer cooperatives. Conventional companies are neither obliged to, nor do, operate in accordance with these fair trade principles.

All of Equal Exchange's organic coffee is certified by Oregon Tilth. Oregon Tilth Certified Organic (OTCO) is an internationally recognized symbol of organic integrity. The purpose of organic certification is to ensure that the agreed upon conventions of organic agricultural systems are being practiced not only by growers, but also by all the people who handle and process organic food on its journey to the final consumer. To accomplish this, OTCO provides a system which combines strict production standards, verifiable third party inspections, and legally binding affidavits to protect the producers and buyers of organic products. For further information, visit www.tilth.org.

All our coffee is certified "OU" kosher. The "OU", Orthodox Union, is the largest and oldest Kosher supervising agency in the world. The OU
has supervised Kosher products for seventy five years. The OU certifies over 2,300 companies with 4,500 plants in 70 countries around the globe with a total of over 300,000 labels.

Kosher supervision means that a qualified Rabbi or Rabbinic organization supervises the production of a food item to insure that the product is
Kosher (prepared in accordance with Jewish dietary law). For more information, visit www.ou.org.

Our concern for the quality of farmers‚ lives is matched by our concern for the quality of our coffee. Through our long-term relationships with the farmers and yearly visits to the co-ops, we maintain an intimate knowledge of the coffee harvest and the quality of the beans. We have a rigorous system for quality control from bean to cup. Each pre-shipment sample is evaluated to meet our standards. When the approved shipment arrives, it is evaluated again for consistency and preparation. After each coffee is roasted, they are individually "cupped" to ensure consistency in the roast and the flavor profile needed for that particular coffee.

If you choose whole bean coffee, grind it according to your brewing method—coarse for French presses and percolators, medium for automatic drip and fine for espresso machines.

As a general rule, use 2 tablespoons of coffee to 6 ounces of filtered water. The most important thing is to brew the coffee the way you like
it.

To preserve freshness, store your coffee in an airtight container. It is not necessary to put your coffee in the refrigerator or freezer.

Here at Equal Exchange, our coffee is roasted to bring out the finest characteristics in each bean. Using a series of strict quality controls, we evaluate the characteristics of each bean to determine the proper roast and blend combinations. We offer four different coffee roasts:

Medium Roast
Color: Cinnamon Brown

As coffee beans begin to develop, they reach the first stage of roasting that is light in color and bright in the cup.

Full City Roast
Color: Chestnut Brown

The most desirable characteristics of a particular country or region are exemplified in our full city roast. Beans are at their most complex and
most flavorful.

Vienna Roast
Color: Dark Chocolate Brown

Rich coffee oils evenly cover the surface of the beans to produce a smokey aroma and a smooth, rich cup.

French Roast
Color: Mahogany Brown

The intensity of this dark roast is seen in the deep coffee oils that cover its surface. The sweet, carbony aroma and velvety flavor make thi an international favorite!

Equal Exchange has been working to change the terms of trade for small-scale coffee, tea, and cocoa farmers since 1986. In most countries, tea is grown as part of the plantation system. In fact, the majority of certified Fair Trade tea is currently grown on plantations. Because we believe in small farmers, we at Equal Exchange are increasingly working with small-scale tea producers to bring change to this system.

A few years ago, in a controversial move, one of the two Fair Trade certifiers changed a key requirement when they constructed the Fair Trade model for tea. They decided that due to the scarcity of small farmers in the major tea producing countries such as India and Sri Lanka, the model would revolve around plantations rather than small farms. In addition, a vague "higher than normal" price replaced the easily verifiable "minimum price" requirement. The result was a certification that has significantly different standards than its coffee counterpart. By focusing the Fair Trade model on plantations, small farmers already weak in the tea economy, were further marginalized.

In 1998, Equal Exchange entered the tea market because we saw an opportunity to work with the small farmers of the Mineral Springs Cooperative in Darjeeling. We visited them in 2005 and observed the growth in the capacity of the co-op. But more importantly, we saw how co-op members were sharing their experience and knowledge with other small tea farmers. The Equal Exchange tea program has a strong network of support which also includes a larger partner, Tea Promoters of India (TPI), a group of six family-owned tea plantations that has an exemplary history of supporting alternative tea models. Mission-driven Fair Trade organizations have played a key role in taking risks and creating a market for small farmer tea. Our allies in this work include organizations such as Equal Exchange (U.K.), SERRV (U.S.), and Alter Eco (France). But the most important allies for small farmer tea are food co-ops, natural food stores, and churches. The support of these groups will be vital in building the market and educating consumers, and in helping to make a small farmer Fair Trade tea a success.

Through our direct and long-term relationships with producers, we are able to bring you the best teas of their harvest, and the finest quality teas. All of Equal Exchange’s teas are certified organic. This gentle, chemical-free method of farming helps maintain biodiversity and a healthy environment. And since tea leaves cannot be washed during processing (water would steep the tea), organic certification ensures that no unwanted chemicals end up in your cup.

Tea contains anti-oxidants which are known to promote good health. For more info visit these sites:

Wikipedia: Potential effects of tea on health

BBC News: Tea 'healthier' drink than water

WebMD: Green Tea for a Long Life?

North India
Producer Group: Tea Promoters of India (TPI), Sanjukta Vikas Cooperative
Region: Darjeeling, West Bengal, India

TPI has been a pioneer in bringing environmental and social reforms to the tea industry. TPI is a Darjeeling-based family operation that manages six organic, Fair Trade tea gardens. In addition, TPI is supporting small tea farmers and helping them to get access to the market and a fair price for their tea.

The Sanjukta Vikas Cooperative was one of the first small farming initiatives in the plantation heavy region of Darjeeling. The land that cooperative members live on was a tea plantation in the early part of the century but abandoned in the 1950s. The community has since depended mostly upon subsistence farming of corn, millet, potatoes and vegetables. Small local sales of ginger, cardamom and oranges provide some of their income. TPI has been working with the Sanjukta Vikas Cooperative to help them develop quality standards and market their tea.


South India
Producer group: Sahyadri Farmers Consortium (SFC)
Region: Idukki Region, Kerala

The members of the Sahyadri Farmers Consortium in Kerala, India are predominantly marginalized small producers and members of tribal groups who have suffered from social and economic injustice for generations. The goal of the SFC is to bring economic growth and control to its members. The mountainous region of Kerala is environmentally sensitive and is experiencing massive erosion, deforestation, and acute water shortages each summer. SFC is part of the Peermade Development Society and their tea is packed by TPI in Northern India.


Sri Lanka
Producer Group: Small Organic Farmers Association (SOFA) and BioFoods
Region: Gampola and Uva, Sri Lanka

Our partners in Sri Lanka are the Small Organic Farmers association (SOFA) and BioFoods. The SOFA project began in 1993 with the vision to establish a prosperous community living in harmony with the environment, and today there are over 750 participants. The SOFA members are low income small land holders who grow a variety of foods including pepper, cloves and ginger, but tea is their most important crop. BioFoods acts as the processor and packer for all SOFA tea.


South Africa
Producer Group: Wupperthal Tea Association and Fair Packers
Region: Cederberg Region, South Africa

The Wupperthal Tea Association is a democratically organized group of small-scale farmers. Their land is situated to the east of the Cederberg Mountains in an area that is the driest Rooibos growing regions, resulting in both lower production and higher quality. Pushed off their ancestral lands during the colonial and apartheid eras to make way for large-scale white-owned plantations, Fair Trade offers hope and a chance for these small-scale farmers to reach markets formerly accessible only to plantations. The Rooibos is processed and packed by Fair Packers, a small-farmer initiative partly controlled by the Wupperthal Tea Association.

All traditional teas - green and black - come from the Camellia sinensis plant, while Rooibos comes from a bush only found in South Africa called Aspalathus linearis. The difference between green and black teas is the result of processing.

Green Teas go through three main steps: withering, steaming, and drying. During the withering process, freshly plucked leaves are laid out on long tables to allow water to evaporate from the leaves. After withering, the leaves are steamed to prevent any of the enzymes from oxidizing. Finally, the leaves are carefully dried and sealed into large tea chests for storage or shipment.

Black teas go through 4 main steps: withering, rolling, oxidizing, and drying. During the withering process, freshly plucked leaves are laid out on long tables to allow water to evaporate from the leaves. After withering, the leaves are rolled by hand or machine. Rolling gently breaks and bruises the leaves to release the enzymes from within the leaves. After rolling, the leaves are laid out on racks where they are oxidized. This process is what turns the leaves from green to brown and black in color. When the optimal level of oxidation is reached, the leaves are dried to stop oxidation. The leaves are then packed and sealed into large tea chests for storage or shipment.

Currently our teas are not Kosher certified. We have investigated Kosher certification for our tea products, and the primary challenge is the cost of certification, and not farming practices or product handling. In India, for example, the Kosher certifier has to travel from Mumbai (West Coast) to the Darjeeling Mountains (North East) to gain access to the tea farms. In addition, because we are working with small farmers on several plots of land, the amount of inspection and paperwork is dramatically higher than on large-scale estates.

Kosher certification is important to us we will continue to investigate ways to develop products that meet consumer needs.

Rooibos (pronounced roy-BOSS) is a rich, red tea that comes from a wild plant (Aspalathus linearis) only found and grown in Western South Africa. It is naturally caffeine-free and contains antioxidants, which are known to promote good health.

Traditionally, Rooibos was harvested and used by the Khoi San tribe. During the 1900s, many settlers saw the potential for markets for the product and Rooibos was commercialized. Today, the Wupperthal Cooperative is one of the few remaining groups of black small farmers that are trying to keep the authentic tradition alive.

There are no additives in our Organic Green Magic Tea. It is simply green tea from the Small Organic Farmers Association in Sri Lanka. The magic is a reference to the growth and success of the small farmers and the land on which they live and grow tea.

We do not offer any decaf teas but we recommend our Organic Rooibos Tea which is a naturally caffeine-free herb that comes from South Africa.

Alternatively, there are ways to decrease the amount of caffeine in your cup of tea. Our Customer Service Manager recommends steeping a tea bag for 30 second in a half cup of boiling water. After pouring this water out, steep your tea like normal. This will not fully decaffeinate the tea and might slightly change the taste of the final cup, but will reduce the overall amount of caffeine.

Whereas most cocoa on the world market is bought "blind" through importers and brokers, the flow of Fair Trade Certified™ cocoa is monitored - from the farmers to the store shelf - by independent, non-profit, certifying organizations. These two organizations, FLO International and TransFair USA, guarantee that the cocoa was produced and traded in a socially responsible manner, specifically that:

• International Labor Organization Conventions 29, 105 and 138 on child labor and forced labor are adhered to.
• the cocoa was bought directly from a democratically controlled cooperative of small scale farmers. This helps them to gain more control of their livelihoods and ensures farmers a higher percentage of cocoa export revenues.
• the cooperative was paid at least $1,950 per metric ton of organic cocoa. This is much higher than the world market price over the last two years. In 2000 the market price dropped as low as $640/ton. (See chart of cocoa prices.)

Only cocoa products meeting these conditions may carry the TransFair USA's Fair Trade Certified™ label.

Eight cooperatives of mostly small-scale, organic family farmers in the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Peru, Paraguay and the United States, plus two small worker cooperatives, one Canada, and one in the U.S. - Equal Exchange. Besides ourselves these groups include:

• CONACADO (the National Confederation of Dominican Cocoa Producers). This cooperative includes 9,000 small-scale farmers, or 1/4th of all Dominican cocoa growers. www.conacado.com
• CACVRA (Cooperativa Agraria Cafetelera del Valle Rio Apurímac), and El Quinacho, two cooperatives of approximately 1,500 small-scale coffee and cocoa growers (total) in southern Peru.
• Four co-ops of small-scale sugar cane farmers. Three in Paraguay - the Montillo, Arroyense, and Manduvirá cooperatives - and one in Costa Rica - the Asoprodulce co-op in Jaris.
• La Siembra. Like Equal Exchange La Siembra, is a worker-owned cooperative dedicated to Fair Trade. They are based in Ottawa, Canada and have their own brand of Fair Trade organic cocoa and sugar products, Cocoa Camino, for the Canadian market. They help to coordinate the ingredient sourcing and production of our various cocoa and sugar products. www.lasiembra.com

• Transfats
• Vegetable oils. Hydrogenated palm, soybean, cottonseed & safflower oil and partially hydrogenated palm kernel, coconut, & canola oil are used by some large manufacturers.
• Corn syrup solids
• Various chemicals including: sodium caseinate, dipotassium phosphate, sodium silicoalaluminate, mono- and diglycerides
• Artificial flavors

• certified Fair Trade organic cocoa
• certified Fair Trade organic evaporated sugar cane juice
• certified organic non-fat dry milk powder
• certified organic almonds
• cellulose gum, salt and vanilla (for the hot cocoa mix only)

Yes. Both our Organic Hot Cocoa mix and our Organic Baking Cocoa are certified by the Kashruth Council of Canada.

Good for the farmers and their communities. Good for wildlife. No GMO's. No rBGH.

• Farmer, worker and child safety - In the IITA study of child labor in the African cocoa industry (see Q6.) a serious concern was raised over the common practice of adults, laborers and children applying toxic pesticides in a potentially dangerous manner. Elsewhere it has been noted that safety equipment (gloves, respirators, etc.) is rarely used on African cocoa farms or made available to laborers.
• Equal Exchange's organic cocoa is cultivated on small plots, and usually under a shade canopy that preserves critical elements of the native Dominican and Peruvian forests. Biologists have determined that this gentle, chemical free method of farming helps to maintain bio-diversity and protect the winter habitat of millions of migratory song birds. For related information click here.
• As a certified organic food none of our ingredients are genetically modified. Organic certification also ensures that the milk powder is free of rBGH (recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone), an artificial hormone that is often given to cows to increase their milk production.

During the summer months Equal Exchange must suspend shipping chocolate bars to most states in order to maintain quality standards. Our products are shipped through UPS in non-refrigerated trucks, and as a result chocolate bars can melt during summer shipments.

Starting this summer, we will be shipping full cases of chocolate bars to the following states using insulated EPS foam sheets and gel ice packs: MA, NH, ME, VT, RI, CT, NY, PA, NJ, DE, MD, VA, WV, Northern OH.

Chocolate bars will become available for purchase online again in September once temperatures have become cool enough to prevent melting. In the meantime, if you do not live in one of the states we can ship to, ask for Equal Exchange Fairly Traded Organic chocolate bars at your local store where they are available year round.

We are constantly looking for better ways to reduce our environmental footprint. Surprising even to us, we have chosen EPS because it can be easily reused and was the only insulation we found to be recyclable.

Here are a few suggestions on how to find a recycling location near you:

1. If you already have a recycling service in your area, check with them to see if they accept #6 Plastic (Polystyrene).
2. Visit www.earth911.org and enter “#6 Plastic (Polystyrene)” and your zip code at the top of the screen. Recycling centers near you will be displayed.
3. Search for a UPS store near you and call them to find out if they accept #6 Plastic (Polystyrene) for recycling.
4. Download a PDF file with a list of drop off areas around the U.S. If there are no EPS recycling options in your area, you can mail EPS to the Alliance for Foam Packaging Recyclers. See instructions at the web site above.

• The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Read the 2001 series "Slaves feed world's taste for chocolate", written by Knight Ridder journalists Sudarsan Raghavan and Sumana Chatterjee.
  
  
• International Labor Rights Fund - "Child Labor in the Cocoa Industry"
  
  
• Marketplace, February 2006 - "Ethically-produced chocolate"
  
  
• Globa Exchange, June 2005 - "The News on Chocolate is Bittersweet: No Progress on Child Labor, but Fair Trade Chocolate is on the Rise" (pdf format)

Equal Exchange is best known as the unorthodox, employee-owned company that in 1991 pioneered the practice of fair trade with small coffee farmers. The company is unique for having voluntarily adopted, and for aggressively promoting, these fair trade standards for years when our peers insisted that it was impossible. But Equal Exchange has persevered with this unusual course because it was founded with an unusual mission —to create a new model of bringing the best from farms to the consumers in a manner that was direct, fair and sustainable to all involved: the environment, the farmers, our employees, our wholesale customers, and
the public.

And though 96 companies, some 200 times our size, have now joined us in the fair trade sector, Equal Exchange remains the market leader, even as we continue to improve the benefits we offer to our co-op partners. By our consistent growth and profitability we have demonstrated fair trade's viability, expanded the definition of "great coffee", and have raised the bar for ethical business practices.

A worker cooperative is an alternative for-profit structure based upon standard democratic principles such as one person one vote and open access to information (i.e. open-book management, etc.) Instead of being owned by outside investors or founders, a worker co-op is owned, equally, by its employees.

Directors, managers, and entry-level employees all own one, identical share, and receive an equal share of any profits. These worker-owners‚ both elect the Board of Directors and fill six of the nine Board seats. The Board in turn is responsible for hiring and supervising management. Consequently a circle is formed, as in American civic democracy, of everyone being accountable to someone else.

The delegation of responsibilities is very much like that of conventional company—which allows for efficiency—except that at Equal Exchange those at the "bottom" of the organizational chart are, as owners, also at the "top" of the same chart.