Our Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

This privacy policy has been compiled to better serve those who are concerned with how their 'Personally identifiable information' (PII) is being used online. PII, as used in US privacy law and information security, is information that can be used on its own or with other information to identify, contact, or locate a single person, or to identify an individual in context. Please read our privacy policy carefully to get a clear understanding of how we collect, use, protect or otherwise handle your Personally Identifiable Information in accordance with our website.  As we modify our information collection or privacy practices, and as privacy laws evolve, it may be necessary to revise or update this privacy policy. We will always change the effective date on the privacy policy to reflect when it was last revised. We will continue to protect your personal information in accordance with applicable law and as described by our current privacy policy.

What personal information do we collect from the people that visit our website?

Some information we collect you provide to us when ordering or registering on our site. This may include your name, username and password, email address, mailing address, phone number and financial account information such as credit card information (encrypted), birthday, demographic information and any other information you give us. You may also provide us information about other people, including when you direct us to send a gift card or e-gift.

Some information is collected by us automatically, including when you access our website or otherwise use our services, such as information regarding what products you purchase from us, how frequently you purchase them, and any rewards or promotions associated with a purchase.

When do we collect information?

We collect information from you when you register on our site, place an order, subscribe to a newsletter or SMS service, respond to a survey, fill out a form or enter information on our site.

Generally, we retain your personal information for the period necessary to fulfill the purposes detailed below in our privacy policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.

How do we use your information?

We may use the information we collect from you in a variety of ways, including the following:

• To provide the products or services you have requested.
• To communicate with you regarding your orders, purchases, returns or other transactions with our company.
• To facilitate the functionality of and improve our website in order to better serve you.
• To allow us to better service you in responding to your customer service requests.
• To administer a contest, promotion, survey or other site feature, including sending you personalized promotions or special offers.
• To quickly process your transactions.
• To detect, prevent or investigate security breaches or fraud.
• To send periodic emails regarding your orders or other products and services.
• To send period text messages (SMS) regarding your orders or other products and services.

How do we protect visitor information?

We protect your information using technical, physical, and administrative security measures to reduce the risk of loss, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure or modification of your information. Our website is scanned on a regular basis for security holes and known vulnerabilities in order to make your visit to our site as safe as possible.  In addition, your personal information is contained behind secured networks and is only accessible by a limited number of persons who have special access rights to such systems, and are required to keep the information confidential. In addition, all sensitive/credit information you supply is encrypted via Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology.  While we have employed security technologies and procedures to assist safeguarding your personal information, please note that no system or network can be guaranteed to be 100% secure.

Do we use 'cookies'?

Yes. Cookies are small files that a site or its service provider transfers to your computer's hard drive through your Web browser (if you allow) that enables the site's or service provider's systems to recognize your browser and capture and remember certain information. For instance, we use cookies to help us remember and process the items in your shopping cart. They are also used to help us understand your preferences based on previous or current site activity, which enables us to provide you with improved services. We also use cookies to help us compile aggregate data about site traffic and site interaction so that we can offer better site experiences and tools in the future.  We may also use trusted third-party services that track this information on our behalf.

Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can choose to have your computer warn you each time a cookie is being sent, or you can choose to turn off all cookies. You do this through your browser (like Chrome or Internet Explorer) settings. Each browser is a little different, so look at your browser's Help menu to learn the correct way to modify your cookies.  Please note, however, that if you disable cookies, some features of our website will be disabled or not function properly. For example, you will not be able to add products to your shopping cart.

We may also use third-party analytical tools to help us better understand how you use our website. These analytical tools will place cookies on your computer to collect information. The information collected by these analytical tools will tell us things like which search engine referred you to our website, how you navigated around our website and what you purchased. This information will help us to better serve you with more personalized information and product offerings. The third-party provider of the analytical tools may only use your personal information to perform services for us and is contractually required to maintain all of the information it collects and analyzes for us securely and in confidence. This third party may not share your personal information with anyone else, or use it for any other purpose, except on an aggregate, non-identifiable basis.

Third Party Disclosure

We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer to outside parties your personally identifiable information unless we provide you with advance notice. This does not include website hosting partners and other parties who assist us in operating our website, conducting our business, or servicing you, so long as those parties agree to keep this information confidential. We may also release your information when we believe release is appropriate to comply with the law, enforce our site policies, or protect ours or others' rights, property, or safety.  In the event of a merger, consolidation or sale or transfer of all or substantially all of our company or its assets, personal information collected by our website may be transferred to the purchaser or the new company.

However, non-personally identifiable visitor information may be provided to other parties for marketing, advertising, or other uses.

Third-party links

Occasionally, at our discretion, we may include or offer third party products or services on our website. These third-party sites have separate and independent privacy policies. We therefore have no responsibility or liability for the content and activities of these linked sites. Nonetheless, we seek to protect the integrity of our site and welcome any feedback about these sites.

Notice of Financial Incentive

We offer select sign-up incentive discounts for our email newsletter and our SMS program, as well as a loyalty program for our cafes (the Equator Cafe Rewards program) that provides certain perks, such as loyalty points and item rewards and other occasional offers at Equator Cafes. We may also provide other programs from time to time, including contests, sweepstakes, or other product giveaways. ("Promotional Programs"). 

Due to the fact that these Promotional Programs collect the personal information that you provide to us, they can be interpreted as a "financial incentive" under California law. Each financial incentive or redeemable value associated with these Promotional Programs is made as our good faith determination of an appropriate value relative to the data that we're collecting.

You may withdraw from participating in any promotional program by contacting us as described below in the Contacting Us section of this privacy policy.

Protecting Children's Privacy

We do not knowingly solicit or collect personal information from children under the age of 13 without parental consent. If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under age 13 without parental consent, we will promptly delete that information. If you believe that any personal information from child under age 13 may have been provided to us without parental consent, please contact us as described below in the Contacting Us section of this Privacy Policy.

Accessing and Correcting Your Information

We endeavor to maintain accurate information and provide you with options to update your information. You can log into your account and modify your information using your log-in credentials. You also may request that we update your information by contacting us as described below in the Contacting Us section of this privacy policy.

Opting Out

If you would rather not receive marketing emails or SMS from us, please let us know by contacting us as described below in the Contacting Us section of this privacy policy.  You may also opt out of specific communications (such as marketing emails and marketing SMS) by following the opt out instructions contained in the communication itself.

Your Rights Under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) provides you with rights regarding how your data or personal information is treated. Under the legislation, California residents can choose to opt out of the “sale” of their personal information to third parties. Based on the CCPA definition, “sale” refers to data collection for the purpose of creating advertising and other communications.

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), you have the right to:

• to know and to delete the personal information we have collected about you
• to limit the collection and use of that information
• to correct any inaccuracies that may exist in that information
• to opt out of the sale or sharing of any of this information.
• and to exercise each of these rights free of discrimination 

Click here to learn more about CCPA and your privacy rights.

To submit a request to obtain, limit, or delete your personal data in accordance with the California Consumer Privacy Act, please contact us through our website by clicking here.

To submit a request to correct any inaccuracies we have in your personal data in accordance with the California Consumer Privacy Act, please contact us through our website by clicking here.

To opt-out of the sale or sharing of your personal data in accordance with the California Consumer Privacy Act, please complete the prompt found here on our "How to Opt Out" page.

We will reply to any of the above digital requests permitted under California Consumer Privacy Act within the timeframe required by law.

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you also have the right to to designate an authorized agent to make any of the above requests on your behalf. When a request is submitted to us by an authorized agent, we will verify your identity by requesting information sufficient to confirm your identity.  We will also request proof that you have indeed authorized an agent to submit a privacy request on your behalf, or use a third-party verification provider to verify your identity.

If you are unable to contact us digitally, please contact our customer support team at 1 (800) 809-7687.

Contacting Us
If there are any questions regarding this privacy policy you may contact us through our website, by clicking here. 

If you are unable to complete this contact form digitally, please contact our support team at 1 (800) 809-7687

Terms of Service 
By using our website, including any content and services offered on our website, you agree to the terms and conditions (“Terms”) outlined below.  If you do not agree to be bound by these Terms, please do not use our website.  Please note that we may revise and update these Terms from time to time.  Any such changes will be effective immediately unless otherwise noted, and your continued use of our website following the effective date of the revised Terms means that you accept and agree to the changes.  If you have any comments or queries, please feel free to email any inquiry to us at info@equatorcoffees.com.

Intellectual Property Rights 
Unless otherwise noted, all materials on this site are protected as the copyrights, trademarks and/or other intellectual properties owned by Equator Coffees, LLC and/or its subsidiaries and affiliates (collectively, “Equator”) or by other parties that have licensed their material to Equator.  All rights not expressly granted are reserved.  Any use of Equator’s intellectual property rights is prohibited unless specifically agreed to in writing by Equator or expressly permitted by these Terms.

Personal Use 
These Terms permit you to use our website for your personal, non-commercial use only.  You must not reproduce, distribute, modify, create derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, republish, download, store or transmit any of the material on our website for any commercial purpose without our prior written permission.  In addition, you agree not to use our website in any way that violates any applicable federal, state, local or international law or regulation.  You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless Equator for any and all unauthorized uses you may make of any of the material on the site.

Feedback and Submissions

We welcome your comments and suggestions regarding our website and the information, products and services we make available here.  Please feel free to contact us at info@equatorcoffees.com to provide us any feedback.  You agree you are and shall remain solely responsible for the contents of any submissions you make to our site, and you will not submit material that is unlawful, defamatory, abusive or obscene.  In addition, you agree that you will not submit anything to the site that will violate any right of any third party, including copyright, trademark, privacy or other personal or proprietary right(s).  You hereby grant to Equator a royalty-free, non-exclusive right and license to use, copy, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, perform and display any materials that you post to our website and to incorporate them in other works in any form, media, or technology now known or later developed for editorial, commercial, non-commercial, promotional or any other purpose, without your approval or right of accounting.  In addition, you warrant that any “moral rights” in your materials posted by you have been waived.

Accuracy of Information

The information presented on our website is made available solely for general information purposes. We do not warrant the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of this information, and any reliance you place on such information is strictly at your own risk.  In particular, we may update the content on our website periodically, but any of the material on our website may be out of date at any given time, and we are under no obligation to update such material in a timely manner or at all.  We disclaim all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on such materials by you or any other visitor to our website, or by anyone who may be informed of any of its contents.  In addition, we do not give any warranty regarding the availability or reliability of this site or that the functions contained in the site will be uninterrupted or error-free, that this site or its server will be free of viruses or other harmful components, or that defects will be corrected even if we become aware of them.

Third Party Links

From time to time, our website may contain links to other websites that are not owned, operated or controlled by us.  All such links are provided solely as a convenience to you, and if you use these links, you will leave our site.  Neither we nor any of our respective affiliates are responsible for any content, materials or other information located on or accessible from any other website(s). Neither we nor any of our respective affiliates endorse, guarantee, or make any representations or warranties regarding any other websites, or any content, materials or other information located or accessible from any other websites, or the results that you may obtain from using any other websites.  If you decide to access any other websites linked to or from our site, you do so entirely at your own risk and subject to the terms and conditions of use for such websites.

Purchasing our Products 
Users of this website age eighteen (18) and older may register for an account to purchase our products. If you are under the age of eighteen (18), you may not register for access to an account and you may only purchase our products through and with the consent of a parent or guardian. When you register for an account, you hereby represent that:

• You meet such age requirement;
• The information you provide is accurate, current and complete;
• You will be responsible for all activities and transactions that take place and all materials posted by you or anyone using your account;
• You will be solely responsible for maintaining the secrecy and security of your account and password.

Please note that we reserve the right to terminate any user account or cancel product orders in our discretion, including, without limitation, if we believe that your conduct violates applicable law or is harmful to our interests. 

Recurring Subscriptions

If you start a subscription, you agree to be billed in a recurring fashion on a per-order basis until your subscriptions is a) canceled or b) paused. If pausing, the subscription will remain paused until the requested resume date or if a resume date is not specified, the subscription will remain paused indefinitely.  You may cancel your subscription at any time via our website, through the phone, or via email communication with our customer support team.  If cancelling via phone or email, please allow up to 72 hours for cancellation.  You will be charged the same amount for each order that is generated from your subscription unless configuration changes are made to the subscription. This includes cancelling a subscription and later starting one of a similar configuration.  The term of your subscription is continuous.

Shipping Policy 
Equator’s value proposition is freshness.  All orders will be shipped as soon as reasonably possible after you place an order.  All packages are shipped UPS unless we are shipping to a P.O. Box, in which case, your package will be shipped via the United States Postal Service.  Shipping charges are UPS published rates and are based on the total weight of your order.  Because of packaging materials, shipping weight may differ from actual product weight. Products on this site will be delivered only within the United States.  For delivery outside of the continental U.S., or for additional shipping information call 800-809-7687. All prices displayed on the site are in U.S. Dollars.

Customer Satisfaction
We are a customer-centric company and our mission is to provide outstanding customer service. We want you to be completely satisfied with your order, but if you have any questions or concerns regarding your order or experience purchasing products through our website, please contact us at info@equatorcoffees.com.

Disclaimer of Warranties

Our website, its contents and any services or products obtained through our website are provided on an “as-is” and “as-available” basis, without warranty, representation, condition, or guarantee of any kind, express or implied, and your use thereof is at your own risk.  We make no warranty or representation that our website will be accurate, reliable, error-free or uninterrupted, that defects will be corrected, that our website or the server that makes it available are free of viruses or other harmful components or that our website or any services or items obtained through our website will otherwise meet your needs or expectations.  To the fullest extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties, representations, conditions, or guarantees, express or implied, including without limitation any warranties or conditions of title, merchantability, merchantable quality, service quality, noninfringement, and fitness for a particular purpose.

Limitation of Liability

In no event shall we, or any of our employees or other in no event shall we, or any of our employees or other service providers, officers, directors, agents or affiliates, be liable for any damages of any kind arising from your use of our website or any content on our website, including any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, punitive, or exemplary damages, including but not limited to damages for loss of profits, goodwill, use, data or other intangible losses even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages, and regardless of the cause of such damages.  

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless Equator, its affiliates, and their respective employees and other service providers, officers, directors and agents, and each of their successors and assigns, from and against any claims, losses, liabilities, damages, costs and fees (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising from or relating to your violation of these Terms, your use of our website or your use of any information obtained from our website, including, but not limited to, any use of our website's content, services and products other than as expressly authorized in these Terms.

Privacy Statement 
For an explanation of our privacy policy, please read our Privacy Policy.

Governing Law; Jurisdiction; Dispute Resolution

All matters relating to our website and these Terms and any dispute or claim arising therefrom or related thereto will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of California, without giving effect to any choice or conflict of law provision. Any legal suit, action or proceeding arising out of, or related to, these Terms or our website will be instituted exclusively in the federal and state courts located in Marin County, California.  You agree to an arbitration on an individual basis. YOU AND EQUATOR ARE AGREEING TO GIVE UP ANY RIGHTS TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION WITH RESPECT TO A CLAIM. ANY CLAIM, DISPUTE OR CONTROVERSY (WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE) BETWEEN YOU AND US ARISING FROM OR RELATING IN ANY WAY TO YOUR PURCHASE OF PRODUCTS OR SERVICES THROUGH THE SITE, WILL BE RESOLVED EXCLUSIVELY AND FINALLY BY BINDING ARBITRATION.  The arbitration will be administered by the American Arbitration Association (”AAA”) in accordance with the Consumer Arbitration Rules (the ”AAA Rules”) then in effect, except as modified by this paragraph.  The arbitrator will be empowered to grant whatever relief would be available in court under law or in equity.  Any award of the arbitrator(s) will be final and binding on each of the parties, and may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction.  If you prevail on any claim that affords the prevailing party attorneys’ fees, the arbitrator may award reasonable fees to you under the standards for fee shifting provided by law.  In any dispute, NEITHER YOU NOR EQUATOR WILL BE ENTITLED TO JOIN OR CONSOLIDATE CLAIMS BY OR AGAINST OTHER CUSTOMERS IN COURT OR IN ARBITRATION OR OTHERWISE PARTICIPATE IN ANY CLAIM AS A CLASS REPRESENTATIVE, CLASS MEMBER OR IN A PRIVATE ATTORNEY GENERAL CAPACITY. The arbitral tribunal may not consolidate more than one person’s claims, and may not otherwise preside over any form of a representative or class proceeding. The arbitral tribunal has no power to consider the enforceability of this class arbitration waiver and any challenge to the class arbitration waiver may only be raised in a court of competent jurisdiction. If any provision of this arbitration agreement is found unenforceable, the unenforceable provision will be severed and the remaining arbitration terms will be enforced.

Miscellaneous

These Terms and our Privacy Policy constitute the entire understanding and agreement between you and us with respect to the use of our website.   If any provision of these Terms is held by a court or other tribunal of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable for any reason, such provision will be eliminated or limited to the minimum extent such that the remaining provisions of these Terms will continue in full force and effect.

CCPA Compliance

CCPA Opt Out

GDPR Compliance