Equal Exchange was founded in 1986 to create a new approach to trade, one that engages consumers and builds honest and Fair Trade relationships through cooperative principles. They are the oldest and largest 100% Fairly Traded specialty coffee company in the U.S.

Equal Exchange is a 100% worker-owned co-op itself and only deals with small farmer co-ops that are democratically run and that use Equal Exchange’s support and programs to build back into their communities.
Visit equalexchange.coop to learn more.

A dozen cafes around the US have banded together with our roaster, Equal Exchange, to bring you an exclusive coffee of the month program. Each month, we offer a coffee that isn’t offered to the general public and it’s only available for that month. These micro-lots will feature coffees grown by some of our farmers that are exceptional. Sometimes a coffee stands out and it shouldn’t just end up in a lab or in a blend. It should end up in your cup. In addition to the coffee, your baristas at Lemonjello’s are actively learning more about where our coffees are from and what these farmers are doing to ensure the best beans reach our cafe.

Fair Trade is a way of doing business that ultimately aims to keep small farmers an active part of the world marketplace, and aims to empower consumers to make purchases that support their values. Fair Trade is a set of business practices voluntarily adopted by the producers and buyers of agricultural commodities and hand-made crafts that are designed to advance many economic, social and environmental goals, including:

  • Raising and stabilizing the incomes of small-scale farmers, farm workers, and artisans
  • More equitably distributing the economic gains, opportunities and risks associated with the production and sale of these goods
  • Increasing the organizational and commercial capacities of producer groups
  • Supporting democratically owned and controlled producer organizations
  • Promoting labor rights and the right of workers to organize
  • Promoting safe and sustainable farming methods and working conditions
  • Connecting consumers and producers
  • Increasing consumer awareness and engagement with issues affecting producers
  • Direct trade relationships and long term contracts between importers and producer groups
  • Sourcing from small-farmer or artisan co-operatives
  • Higher than conventional market prices, either through above-market premiums and/or price floors
  • The provision of affordable credit
  • Adherence to the policies of the International Labor Organization, especially those concerning child and forced labor and the right to collective bargaining
  • The prohibition of the use of the more dangerous pesticides and herbicides
  • Substantial price premiums for the production of certified organic crops
  • External monitoring, auditing, and certification of these practices by independent third-parties