Equal Exchange is a proud member of the Catholic Relief Services Fair Trade Program.
CRS is an international relief and development agency based in Baltimore, Maryland, established in 1943 by the Catholic Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and disadvantaged, and is motivated by the teachings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to alleviate human suffering, promote development of all people and to foster charity and justice throughout the world.
As the official international relief and development agency of the U.S. Catholic community, CRS is also committed to educate the people of the United States about the lives of the people we serve overseas, and to create opportunities for them to help our brothers and sisters abroad to remove the causes of poverty and promote social justice.
The CRS Fair Trade Program works to enlist Catholics and other socially conscious consumers in the United States in the promotion of an alternative system of international trade that is rooted in right relationships—relationships that respect human dignity, promote economic justice and cultivate global solidarity. Toward this end, the CRS Fair Trade Program educates Catholics and other socially conscious consumers in the United States about Fair Trade and promotes the purchase of Fair Trade coffee. CRS also works with Fair Trade Organization entities like Equal Exchange to link its constituents in the United States with CRS-supported farmers and artisans overseas.
CRS Fair Trade Fund
A percentage of your purchases through the CRS Fair Trade Program go to the CRS Fair Trade Fund to help expand the Fair Trade model through Development Grants to producer groups overseas and Market-Building Grants to Fair Trade advocates in the United States.
You can contribute directly to the Fair Trade Fund through their secure online donation platform.
How to Order
ON THE WEB:
The easiest way to order for your congregation, office , or organization is on the web at the Equal Exchange Web Store.
BY MAIL OR FAX:
Download an order form for the CRS Fair Trade Program (in pdf format).
To receive an order form and information in the mail, email your address to communityorders@equalexchange.coop.
What You Can Do
- Serve fairly traded coffee, tea and cocoa in the rectory or office, at meetings and events and during fellowship after mass.
- Form a buying club for parishioners to buy gourmet products at wholesale prices.
- Spread the word about Equal Exchange and Fair Trade.
- Ask local businesses to offer fairly traded products from Equal Exchange.