Equal Exchange
Equal Exchange is a for-profit coffee trading cooperative, promoting itself through high standards of fair trade, sustainability and ecology. It consists of the cooperative and their sub-blog Small Farmers. Big Change. Equal Exchange functions as a platform for buying fair trade certified products, finding recipes and getting information on the fair trade movement and ideals, whereas Small Farmers, Big Change deals specifically with smallholder cooperatives, and this is where critical articles are posted.
Founded in 1986 as an alternative channel to the mainstream trade model, benefitting large-scale plantations, agribusiness and multi-national corporations, Equal Exchange envisioned a connection between producers and consumers through information, education and exchange of goods on the market place. Their entrance to the cooperative trading world was with an import of Nicaraguan coffee during the US embargo on Nicaragua in the late 1980s. Equal Exchange was one of the co-creators of TransFair USA in 1998, and was supportive of this organization until it changed name to Fair Trade USA and broke loose of the FLO-network.
Equal Exchange is led by it's co-founder, Rink Dickinson, who is often cited in a direct critique of Fair Trade USA's campaign "Fair Trade For All".
As seen on the map, Equal Exchange and it's blog Small Farmers, Big Change are the only two actors in the color category of Equal Exchange. They refer to a number of news media and organizations, who share their critical stand against Fair Trade USA in this controversy, and besides that they refer to other trading cooperatives in the US, who share their values in terms of fair trade and internal organization.
Founded in 1986 as an alternative channel to the mainstream trade model, benefitting large-scale plantations, agribusiness and multi-national corporations, Equal Exchange envisioned a connection between producers and consumers through information, education and exchange of goods on the market place. Their entrance to the cooperative trading world was with an import of Nicaraguan coffee during the US embargo on Nicaragua in the late 1980s. Equal Exchange was one of the co-creators of TransFair USA in 1998, and was supportive of this organization until it changed name to Fair Trade USA and broke loose of the FLO-network.
Equal Exchange is led by it's co-founder, Rink Dickinson, who is often cited in a direct critique of Fair Trade USA's campaign "Fair Trade For All".
As seen on the map, Equal Exchange and it's blog Small Farmers, Big Change are the only two actors in the color category of Equal Exchange. They refer to a number of news media and organizations, who share their critical stand against Fair Trade USA in this controversy, and besides that they refer to other trading cooperatives in the US, who share their values in terms of fair trade and internal organization.
Equal Exchange's stand on plantation grown coffee
Equal Exchange is a a very critical voice in the controversy. They emphasize the idea that fair trade should benefit smallholders, since they see this group of producers as vulnerable and in need of market access. They also see smallholders as the backbone of the global food supply and sustainable development, using the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, since the argument of this report is that it is possible to double food production while reducing climate change and decreasing rural poverty through small farmers.
When large-scale operations get fair trade certifications it doesn't improve their access to a market, since most of such operations are already embedded in a trading network with foreign brokers and retails. Fair trade certification becomes an aspect of the product used to increase sales, rather than benefitting the workers employed on plantations. Besides that fair trade certification assures a fair trade premium to be spend on social development projects, and with many employees on plantations being seasonal workers and therefore don't necessarily return to work on the same plantation season after season, there is no way to ensure that the premium benefit the people who actually worked to produce the fair trade certified product. The seasonality of the labor force is also problematic in terms of creating functional democratic farmers committees.
Equal Exchange is not denying that farm workers are vulnerable and in need of support as well as smallholders, but they question whether fair trade certificates are appropriate tools for dealing with issues of working conditions on plantations. Instead they point to "Fair Labor" certification as a possibility to assure a safe workplace, equitable wages and adherence to labor laws.
When large-scale operations get fair trade certifications it doesn't improve their access to a market, since most of such operations are already embedded in a trading network with foreign brokers and retails. Fair trade certification becomes an aspect of the product used to increase sales, rather than benefitting the workers employed on plantations. Besides that fair trade certification assures a fair trade premium to be spend on social development projects, and with many employees on plantations being seasonal workers and therefore don't necessarily return to work on the same plantation season after season, there is no way to ensure that the premium benefit the people who actually worked to produce the fair trade certified product. The seasonality of the labor force is also problematic in terms of creating functional democratic farmers committees.
Equal Exchange is not denying that farm workers are vulnerable and in need of support as well as smallholders, but they question whether fair trade certificates are appropriate tools for dealing with issues of working conditions on plantations. Instead they point to "Fair Labor" certification as a possibility to assure a safe workplace, equitable wages and adherence to labor laws.