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Sustainable Commerce is the Key to Sustainable Communities |
12 Ways to Shop Fair Trade
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Sustainable Commerce is the Key to Sustainable Communities |
12 Ways to Shop Fair Trade
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SiteMap
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Tea One of the fastest-growing segments of the Fair Trade market, US imports of Fair Trade tea increased an impressive 187 percent in 2005. Since then, herbal tea products like chamomile, hibiscus, peppermint, and spearmint have gained Fair Trade status. Tea lovers can find teas bagged, loose, and bottled.
Chocolate The average American eats 12 pounds of chocolate a year, supporting an industry that saw retail sales of more than $16 billion in 2007. If you're among the 46 percent of Americans who say they can't live without chocolate, you can avoid the well-documented problem of child slave labor in the cocoa industry, and direct your share of that $16 billion toward chocolate that helps communities and the environment.
Fresh Fruit In Europe, where Fair Trade fruit has been available since the mid-1990s, Fair Trade bananas have reached a market share as high as 24 percent. In the US, Fair Trade tropical fruits like bananas, mangoes, and pineapples became available in 2004, and their availability is growing, especially in natural foods stores and food co-operatives. Find a store near you selling Fair Trade fruit by using 
Sugar Phosphorus run-offs from the conventional sugar industry in Florida have devastated the ecosystem of the Everglades, and the sugar lobby has worked aggressively to avoid responsibility. Sustainable alternatives to sugar, like locally grown, organic maple syrup or hone, can help you avoid the problems in the sugar industry, as can Fair Trade Certified sugar, introduced to the US in 2005.
Rice While most of the white and brown rice consumed in the US was grown on US farms, most aromatic long-grain rice comes to our tables from small-scale farms in Asia where it was harvested by hand. Workers on these farms often find themselves squeezed by middle merchants and sickened by pesticides; Fair Trade rice most of which is also organic protects both workers and the environment.
Vanilla Working with a labor-intensive crop that yields a relatively low harvest, vanilla farmers are hard-hit when their market fluctuates, as it has since environmental disasters at key production centers in 2000. TransFair USA began certifying vanilla in 2006, and new Fair Trade Certified vanilla ice cream from Ben & Jerry's arrived in supermarkets in January 2007, joining their previous Fair Trade coffee and chocolate flavors.
Spices The European Fair Trade certifying body (FLO) approved standards for Fair Trade spices in 2005. In Europe, products like ginger cookies and lemongrass soap have begun to appear with Fair Trade spices among their ingredients as a hopeful sign for the future of Fair Trade spices in the US.
Wine Introduced to the US market in 2007, Fair Trade wine has been produced in South Africa since 2003, and in Chile and Argentina since 2004. The South African certification process requires vineyard workers to maintain a legally protected minimum 25 percent interest in the winery, in support of the South African government's policies promoting equal land ownerships following Apartheid.
Olive oil The Canaan Fair Trade Association uses the fair trade concept to empower marginalized Palestinian rural communities caught in conflict so they can sustain their livelihoods and culture. Farmers are guaranteed a minimum price, and receive10 percent Fair Trade premium above market price, plus a 10 percent organic premium above market price.
Sports Balls When the European Fair Trade certification body (FLO) created standards for soccer ball production in 2002, it was the first time a non-agricultural commodity had received certification. Since then, five Pakistani and Thai producers have achieved certification, ensuring that no child labor is involved, and that workers receive a living wage in a healthy work environment.
Arts and Crafts Producers of unique, handmade, artisanal Fair Trade products like jewelry, baskets, textiles, and other handicrafts belong to trade associations that screen for internationally recognized Fair Trade standards. For example, our ally, the 
Coffee Available since the late 1990s, Fair Trade coffee is the most widespread and recognizable Fair Trade commodity. Currently, it is the fastest-growing segment of the $11 billion US specialty coffee market and about 85 percent of Fair Trade coffee is also organic.
