October is Fair Trade Month.

"October is Fair Trade Month, which provides a great opportunity for people throughout the United States to support, promote and celebrate a socially responsible system of trade that prioritizes the needs of human beings and the environment over the drive for profits.

Fair Trade is important because conventional "free trade" often leaves farmers and artisans living in extreme poverty, sometimes even facing malnutrition and starvation when world market prices swing dramatically. These are the conditions that have led in some cases to the use of illegal child labor, including child slave labor, and to the use of unsustainable environmental practices such as cutting down trees in the rainforest.

Fair Trade, by contrast, ensures that farmers and artisans are paid a living wage, and that the products they produce aren't made in sweatshops or by exploited child laborers. Fair Trade also promotes production techniques that will not harm the environment."

If you are not sure where to start, you can begin by taking small steps. Products that are accessible everywhere include fair trade coffee, tea, cocoa and sugar. And, by buying organic fair trade, you are supporting a system which is better for humans and the earth.

>Where to Buy Fair Trade Certified.
>Find a Fair Trade event in your area.
>Find out more about Fair Trade.