Corporate Responsibility Mondays continue as we discuss your ever so addictive and greedy sweet tooth. As we’ve done before, Josh will be discussing a corporation whose history is nothing to be proud of, and I’ll be talking about a company that is worth supporting. Sort of like Good cop, Bad cop. So be sure to check out Josh’s post about a not so equal food company.

I was first introduced to Equal Exchange when our Food Not Bombs group received a donation of a couple boxes of their dark chocolate candy bars. The label told a wonderful story of ethical and fair consumerism. Like Maggie’s last week, they run as a co-op:

Our Mission

Equal Exchange’s mission is to build long-term trade partnerships that are economically just and environmentally sound, to foster mutually beneficial relationships between farmers and consumers and to demonstrate, through our success, the contribution of worker co-operatives and Fair Trade to a more equitable, democratic and sustainable world.

Our Guiding Principles

* Trade directly with democratically organized small farmer cooperatives.
* Facilitate access to credit for producer organizations.
* Pay producers a guaranteed minimum price that provides a stable source of income as well as improved social services.
* Provide high quality food products.
* Support sustainable farming practices.
* Build a democratically-run cooperative workplace.
* Develop more environmentally-sound business practices.

All in all the goals and motives behind Equal Exchange are a beautiful example of ethical and responsible Corporate practice. The difficult part is making the decision that buying something is more then just getting the “best value” as in, the most goods for the least money.

Equal Exchange products are just that, an equal exchange. Too often we face products, side by side, aisle by aisle, in the grocery store with no knowledge or story behind how they got there. Our only concern usually is which one has the best price per ounce (they’ve made it so easy now). The unfortunate thing is there is a lot of unequal, unfair, and irresponsible ways that those chocolate bars, candies and other items end up the shelf.
Equal Exchange chocolate bars will run you about $3 a piece, a bit more then the ones in the checkout aisle. And unfortunately it’s way too easy to justify spending 50 cents on the chocolate and saying to yourself you’ll donate the difference later (if you’ve ever done that before, here’s your chance to make amends and make that donation now). The other option you have, is simply not to buy chocolate, your sweet tooth isn’t an essential part of your balanced diet.

Equal Exchange also has a neat video that talks about their coffee and fair trade process. Here’s a trailer:

Now that your throughly convinced Fair Trade is the way to go, step up to the plate and spread the word about Equal Exchange.

1. Convince a Local Business to Offer Equal Exchange Products
2. Host a House Party
3. Student’s can be involved too!
4. even churches.
5. Or you could just buy some chocolate or Coffee

Oh, and be sure to check out Josh’s post about a not so equal food company.