Articles
Tribute to a Fair Trade Visionary: Ilana Schatz
Ilana Schatz was a fair trade hero who passed away this past July, after enduring a six-year battle with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis). She will be remembered for her leadership: her warmth, her humor, and her tireless dedication to creating a more just and compassionate world.
Extraordinary Coordinator: Michael Williams
The Fair Trade Shop at Our Lord's Lutheran Church in Maryville, Illinois, created by Michael Williams, hearkens back to a simpler era. The cozy 12’x12’ space in the Worship Center building is packed with Equal Exchange food and handmade crafts from SERRV artisans. Both the farmers and the craftspeople earn enough money from their products so that they can feed their families and remain in their homes—located in many different countries. The store supports small-scale working people who are ignored by international commercial markets.
Extraordinary Coordinator: Grace Miley
From Grace, “Our church became involved with Equal Exchange in 1996 when we started serving “Fellowship Blend” for any church gatherings. I remember being curious about the concept of fair trade, which was new to me. As EE products expanded, I became the new EE volunteer in our church with no clue where this adventure would lead me.”
Extraordinary Coordinator: Jane Chandler
Jane has been the fair trade purchaser at West Parish Congregational Church UCC in rural Maine for about 20 years — though no one can recall exactly what year she started. Jane and her husband Jim live year round on the edge of Bryant Pond about 15 minutes away from Bethel. Jane delivers most of her Equal Exchange coffee orders by car or folks pick them up from her house or the church; but she keeps her kayak tied to the dock for emergency caffeine deliveries.
Interview with Extraordinary Pastor, Father John Grace
Father John Grace has served as a Catholic Priest for 43 years. He has served as the Pastor at the Immaculate Conception Church in Hampton, Virginia for the past four years. Under Father John's guidance, Immaculate Conception has become a "Care for Creation" or environmentally focused church. The congregation serves Equal Exchange coffee and sells our small farmer products every two weeks after services.
Extraordinary Coordinator: Linda Elliott
Linda Elliott of First Presbyterian in Charleston, West Virginia, first read about Equal Exchange 22 years ago at a meeting of Presbyterian Women (USA). She found the concept of fair trade, justice, equality, and fairness for farmers working in small organic co-ops in the global south to be extremely compelling.
Bring Fair Trade to Your Farmers Market
Because coffee, tea, and cacao aren’t grown in most places in the U.S., many local farmers markets allow folks to sell these items at booths, especially when they’re fairly traded and organic.
Scott G: Equal Exchange Advocate Extraordinaire
Sometimes there is a faith-based advocate for Equal Exchange who works outside of the direct church or synagogue environment. This is the case of Scott G. who sells products to assist small farmers out of his office.
Encourage a Switch to Equal Exchange
You believe in paying fair prices to the farmers who produce your food. You support organic agriculture and sustainability. You want to contribute to an independent and transparent food system, but how do you get others to understand the issues and take action towards food justice?
Equal Exchange Belongs at the Farmers Market
It happened at a planning session for our church mission program. We had recently established a food justice program and wanted to expand it. “How could we better serve our community?” we asked ourselves. And one of our church leaders said, “Why don’t we sell our fair trade food at the local farmers market?”
Extraordinary Coordinators at Monona UMC
This past year, during the pandemic, the Monona United Methodist Church in Wisconsin, had its best sales ever. The church sold $9,000 of Equal Exchange products, $2,000 above the previous year. This was in spite of no group gatherings and virtual church services.
Fundraising with Equal Exchange
There are lots of opportunities to raise money while supporting authentic Fair Trade. Here are some suggestions to try out with your community group, school, club, or congregation.
Groups Sharing Cases of Equal Exchange Products
Groups buying and sharing cases of products together is an alternative way of purchasing food and other goods, instead of buying individually at a store or from an online corporate giant.
Hot Chocolate Bar with Toppings
Winter days and bad weather mean… hot chocolate season! Share a steaming cup of cocoa with friends, dressed up with custom toppings. Line up your favorite fixings and gather a group for a DIY hot chocolate bar.
Get Inspired with Holiday Gift Baskets
Support your community and small-scale farmers around the world by offering conscious consumers meaningful and unique gift basket options. Consumable gifts like coffee, tea and chocolate are wonderful because they won’t collect dust on a shelf and are good gifts for “the person who has everything”.
Inspiration for Your Holiday Sale
We collected some of our favorite creative, yet simple display ideas for holiday sales during Christmas, Hanukkah and beyond!
Coordinator Extraordinaire: Dorothy Killebrew and Grandview UMC
Dorothy Killebrew is a member of Grandview United Methodist Church in Lancaster, PA, one of Equal Exchange’s top faith-based accounts. Hear from Dorothy on how her congregation connects with fair trade and social justice.
Your Fair Trade Holiday Sale Made Easy
A holiday sale is a great way to bring fair trade gift options to your community. Whether you’re raising money for your group’s projects or and encouraging folks to engage in ethical gift purchasing with a social justice mission, here are some of our best tips for a successful table sale!
Sara Anderson: Coordinator Extraordinaire at UU Church of Arlington
Sara Anderson, a member of the UU Church of Arlington, VA shared the story of how her church community got involved with fair trade and how they use the profits from their Equal Exchange sales in a tremendously giving way.
Plan a Fair Trade Sale Using These 5 Tips
Selling fairly traded coffee, tea, chocolate, cocoa and snacks to your community is a way to give them an opportunity to buy high-quality, fairly traded gifts for the holidays and add some additional income for your group. Here are 5 tips for how to make a successful sale happen.