Equal Exchange, a worker co-op & leader in Fair Trade, offers some food for thought for national co-op month

West Bridgewater, MA - Did you know that you're already part of the solution? You are because you shop at a cooperative. Cooperatives tackle directly the problem of how our economy often works for a few, and not for the many. And because October is national co-op month this is a good time to remind co-op members how they are supporting an enterprise that puts the community, and workers, and democracy first, and profits second (or even third or fourth). In a world where corporations seem willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of maximizing profits, stock price, and CEO salaries, cooperatives stand apart as an encouraging, viable, and just economic alternative.

There are all kinds of co-ops: worker co-ops (like Rainbow Grocery), farmer co-ops (for example, Organic Valley, and all the producers of Fair Trade coffee), consumer co-ops (REI), credit unions, co-op banks, etc. And many things make co-ops special, but most of all that by uniting the work and capacities of many, many individuals - the "little guy" - into a democratic organization they begin to level the playing field and create new, more equitable economic possibilities for all of us.

Not only is your co-op making a difference in your community, but co-ops are helping millions of people across the U.S., and around the world. For example, let's look at a single product: Equal Exchange's new Fair Trade chocolate bar.

This simple chocolate bar refutes what the media would have you believe, namely that only huge corporations can handle the complexities of international business in this age of globalization - where the ingredients, processing, and distribution of a product can span many countries and continents.

For starters, all the key ingredients for these chocolate bars - cocoa, sugar, and milk - are certified organic and produced by democratic small farmer cooperatives. In these producer co-ops, farmers organize to market their agricultural products collectively, electing a board of directors who hire staff to run daily business. Revenues in producer co-ops are distributed equitably and transparently. These farmer co-ops are critical to increasing their member's otherwise meager incomes and to democratizing the economies of these rural communities.

The cocoa for the chocolate bars is provided by three different cooperatives: CONACADO in the Dominican Republic, plus the CACVRA and El Quinacho cooperatives on the edge of the Peruvian Amazon.

The sugar is provided by three groups in Paraguay: the Montillo, Arroyense, and Manduvirá cooperatives. The milk, for the milk chocolate bars, is provided by America's own Organic Valley cooperative.

The sourcing of the ingredients is coordinated by another worker cooperative, La Siembra, in Ottawa, Canada. Like Equal Exchange, La Siembra is also a 100% Fair Trade organization, but with a specialization in cocoa and sugar products.

The ingredients are all then sent to a venerable gourmet chocolate company in Switzerland to be converted into chocolate bars. Afterwards they are shipped to us, Equal Exchange, a 65 member worker co-op south of Boston, where we handle all the public education, marketing, sales, distribution, and customer service. In these worker co-ops, employees own the company on a one-person/one-share basis, and elect the board from their own ranks. The directors in turn oversee the company's management. Employees at Equal Exchange, and most worker cooperatives, also share in year-end profits or losses.

Lastly, the bars go out to natural foods stores nationwide, including maybe a worker cooperative store like Rainbow Grocery, or one of the 200+ consumer food cooperatives, for final sale. Ideally they'll be enjoyed with a cup of organic coffee produced by farmer cooperatives, with a dash of co-op produced cream and sugar.

It's common enough today for the value chain of a chocolate bar to span six countries and three continents, but it's exciting when that chocolate was brought to you by eight farmer cooperatives and three worker cooperatives working together across thousands of miles, and with a shared sense of purpose. Thanks to cooperatives you, too, can be a part of this 'grassroots globalization', helping to sustain an economy that works for everyone.

~ Rodney North, rnorth@equalexchange.com
co-op member, board director
Equal Exchange


author, Equal Exchange co-op member Rodney North, sharing a chocolate bar with C.A.C.V.R.A. co-op member and cocoa grower, Luis Diaz Aylas, Rio Apurímac, Peru. August 2004