Founders
Hi! I’m Kate Jones, co-founder of Fair & Square. I started Fair & Square with the love of my life Andrew over a decade ago to share our love of fair trade.
Since we began, we’ve grown to a staff of 9, plus a toddler and baby!
Rolling it all the way back to the beginning…
Andrew and I found each other in Northwest Indiana in a little town called Valparaiso, surrounded by the dunes of Lake Michigan. Although it is a small town, it has a big heart. It was there that we found our passion for helping others.
Right out of school Andrew worked at an international-focused nonprofit where he helped launch a Fair Trade store. I worked at a local marketing agency, spending the majority of my time working with nonprofit clients.
Andrew and I share a deep passion for helping nonprofits increase their impact through using the fundamentals of business and economics.
Translation? Although there is definitely a time and a place for charity, sometimes the most lasting impact can come through giving people the tools to help themselves. Helping them break the cycle of poverty through new opportunities.
That’s why we love fair trade. It helps some of the most marginalized individuals across the world by giving them access to the global marketplace.
If only our items could talk, you’d hear stories of strong women starting their own businesses, previously incarcerated men getting a fresh start in life, trafficking victims building a new life and learning new skills, farmers sending their kids to school so they can choose what they want to do when they grow up, and so many more.
I feel so incredibly grateful for the opportunity to build a business and a family through our work in fair trade.
"Shopping small" means so much to us, not only because of our sons, but also because of our amazing full and part time team, and all those that help out when they're home on break.
It may be an overplayed expression, but it's so true: "When you buy from a small business, an actual person does a little happy dance!"
(You should see Artie's happy dance, it's the best).