- link Copy Url - [ Share on twitter ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Equal Exchange: A Mission Accomplished https://www.3blmedia.com/markdownify/node/382981?absolute=1&via=3blnews "link to 3 B L Media's Twitter") - [ Share on linkedin ](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://www.3blmedia.com/markdownify/node/382981?absolute=1 "link to 3 B L Media's Linkedin") - [ Share on facebook ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://www.3blmedia.com/markdownify/node/382981?absolute=1 "link to 3 B L Media's Facebook") - [ email Share via email ](mailto:?subject=Equal Exchange: A Mission Accomplished&body=ESG News from GreenMoney Journal https://www.3blmedia.com/markdownify/node/382981?absolute=1 "Share via email") [Responsible Business & Employee Engagement](/CSR-News/responsible-business-employee-engagement) # Equal Exchange: A Mission Accomplished Jun 23, 2022 9:15 AM ET ![collage of a cup of coffee, coffee beans, illustrations about coffee, and two black and white photos](/sites/default/files/styles/carousel_2x/public/images/EqExArticle-history.png) ![Equal Exchange logo](/sites/default/files/styles/carousel_2x/public/images/EqExArticle-logo.png) ![Four pictures: coffee being poured into a mug, a person holding a bag of chocolate chips, glass jars of tea brewing, and a coffee bag](/sites/default/files/styles/carousel_2x/public/images/EqExArticle-products.png) ![collage of a cup of coffee, coffee beans, illustrations about coffee, and two black and white photos](/sites/default/files/styles/carousel_thumbnail_x2/public/images/EqExArticle-history.png?h=30aae0d5) ![Equal Exchange logo](/sites/default/files/styles/carousel_thumbnail_x2/public/images/EqExArticle-logo.png?h=67c838fd) ![Four pictures: coffee being poured into a mug, a person holding a bag of chocolate chips, glass jars of tea brewing, and a coffee bag](/sites/default/files/styles/carousel_thumbnail_x2/public/images/EqExArticle-products.png?h=3800d3d7) [Equal Exchange: A Mission Accomplished](https://greenmoney.com/equal-exchange-a-mission-accomplished/) by Ted Ketcham, editor, GreenMoney It was a fortuitous sharing of vision and willingness to take risks that drove Equal Exchange founders Rink Dickinson, Jonathan Rosenthal, and Michael Rozyne in 1986 to move forward with their vision of Fair Trade and a better world. The three were managers at a food cooperative in New England who dreamed of a large and inclusive economy that lifted up the prosperity of growers in the Third World — growers whose poorly paid labor had long kept the wealthy in comfort and the growers in poverty. Meeting once a week for three years to discuss how best to change the way food is grown, bought, and sold around the world, they hatched a plan for a new organization to be called Equal Exchange. The idea of Fair Trade, as practiced by Equal Exchange, was to establish direct relationships between growers and buyers, betting that consumers would support the cooperatives by paying a little extra for higher quality coffee. The profits were shared equally. Today, while they are a much larger organization with more than 100 worker-owners and a significant national and international scale, they are still breaking conventions when they buy from their trade partners in organic, gourmet coffee, tea, sugar, bananas, avocados, cocoa, and chocolate bars and olive oils produced by farmer cooperatives in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Read Ted's full article here on the amazing 30 year journey of Equal Echange here - [![](/sites/default/files/Clients/GreenMoney-30thLogo.png)](/profiles/greenmoney-journal) ### More from GreenMoney Journal ###### [Sheconomy: What Happens When Women’s Financial Power Shapes the Economy ](/news/sheconomy-what-happens-when-womens-financial-power-shapes-the-economy) Mar 23, 2026 10:00 AM ET ###### [How the Cuban Missile Crisis Sparked a Career in Sustainable Investing: A Conversation With Cheryl Smith](/news/how-cuban-missile-crisis-sparked-career-sustainable-investing-conversation-cheryl-smith) Mar 18, 2026 1:30 PM ET ###### [Powering the Future: Investing in Grid Infrastructure](/news/powering-future-investing-grid-infrastructure) Feb 26, 2026 8:00 AM ET ###### [A Wealth of Uncertainty: Climate Change and Our Financial Well-Being](/news/wealth-uncertainty-climate-change-and-our-financial-well-being) Feb 24, 2026 10:00 AM ET ###### [A Just and Sustainable Built Environment ](/news/just-and-sustainable-built-environment) Feb 11, 2026 8:00 AM ET ###### [Mixed-Use: Green Housing and Social Enterprise](/news/mixed-use-green-housing-and-social-enterprise) Feb 9, 2026 10:00 AM ET ###### [Leading Trends in Sustainable Investing ](/news/leading-sustainable-investing) Jan 14, 2026 12:40 PM ET ###### [Redefining Investment Risks in the Energy Transition ](/news/redefining-investment-risks-energy-transition) Dec 31, 2025 8:00 AM ET