Articles
Who Grows the Cacao in Your Chocolate?
Starting around 2000, labor abuses in the cocoa industry began to get international attention. You may have heard about poverty wages, unsafe working conditions, the worst forms of child labor and even modern-day slavery. You may have heard that farming practices that damage the environment were common, too. But what’s going on with that now? Have things gotten any better? (Article updated February 2024)
Journey to ACOPAGRO and Connecting Communities with the Origin Bean Program
In 2019, Equal Exchange worked alongside ACOPAGRO cacao co-op of Peru to foster a delegation opportunity like no other. A blend of Equal Exchange worker-owners and customers traveled three hours from the nearest city by boat to learn about cacao farming in the Amazon basin and stayed with gracious hosts who opened their homes and lives to share in this experience.
Relationships in the Time of COVID
Despite the extra layer of stresses and worries the pandemic is causing, we at Equal Exchange are also feeling a depth of gratitude and affection for the myriad relationships that we have cultivated over these past four decades. Creating, maintaining, and deepening relationships are the pillars that our organization and our business model are built upon.