Equal Exchange UK

 

Name: Equal Exchange UK
Location: Sunderland, UK
Founded: 1990
www.equalexchange.co.uk

In 1979 three aid volunteers returned from Africa. They had seen how small-scale farmers were plunging themselves into debt due to the appallingly low prices they received for their products and buyers’ lack of transparency. At the same time, coffee consumption was growing in the UK, and yet the people drinking it had no idea that the farmers were not even covering their costs or that they had no other choices. Throwing money at the problem was not the only answer—direct, fairer trading would make a real difference.

The team imported coffee from Tanzania and Nicaragua, launching Campaign Coffee Scotland. In 1990 Campaign Coffee Scotland re-branded as Equal Exchange, unaffiliated with Equal Exchange US, and became a worker cooperative.

EEUK now works with a wide range of farming communities, sourcing products from coffee and chocolate to honey and olive oil.

In 2013 Equal Exchange US invested in Equal Exchange UK. In 2017 the decision was made to bring Equal Exchange UK and Equal Exchange under one ownership. Equal Exchange UK became a subsidiary organization of Equal Exchange US, and after years of working closely together, the two organizations became fully integrated. The workers at Equal Exchange UK joined the larger US co-op structure, uniting both cooperative sectors as one.

Since then, Equal Exchange UK has focused on expanding its place in the UK market, working with independent organizations and like-minded companies to build an alternative system whilst keeping the aim of supporting small farmer organizations at its core. This has become increasingly difficult as independent stores have faced tough business challenges alongside the continual, rapid consolidation of the UK market and the steep rise in prices across product manufacturing, further exacerbated by the UK leaving Europe. These difficult market conditions propelled Equal Exchange UK into its next step.

While alternative trade in the UK and beyond has struggled to grow and even survive in this period, we have been fortunate enough to add capacity to our UK business with the addition of a factory in Sunderland. We are excited to add more manufacturing capacity and expand our worker co-op. On May Day in 2022, we had two worker-owners in the UK. Today, we have over 20 full-time workers in Sunderland on track to be worker-owners by May Day, 2024.