Crystal Mountain in Washington and Mt. Rose in Nevada are delighting skiers and snowboarders with a hot cup of Fair Trade Certified coffee when they return from hitting the slopes. Both resorts feature 100% Fair Trade Certified coffees under the label Citavo Organics, a SYSCO brand that helps support projects benefiting children in coffee-growing countries through Pura Vida Partners, a 501c(3) organization. For more info go here. Don't forget to ask your favorite ski resort, museum, hotel, or other business for Fair Trade!

Peace Coffee created this brand-new Fair Trade Certified blend to benefit the Sow the Seeds Fund, an innovative non-profit whose mission is to conserve at-risk farmland, support sustainable farmers, and sustain a local food system in the Upper Midwestern U.S. In addition to supporting small scale coffee farmers in the developing world, two dollars of every pound purchased will go straight into the Sow the Seeds Fund.

Choice Organic Teas has released a new Fair Trade Certified herbal blend and converted several other blends to Fair Trade. Look for Lemon Lavender Mint Blend and the converted Chamomile Spearmint and Northwest Blackberry. Order now and get 10% off in February!

Are you a licensed manufacturer with a new Fair Trade product you would like to see featured in the Beat? Please send a brief paragraph along with a photo of the product and a website to Jean Walsh and we'll alert thousands of Fair Trade supporters in our next newsletter.

Link TV presents You Are What You Eat, a four-hour special that examines how the food choices we make every day impact the world. The first part looks at the links between our coffee-buying choices and the lives of coffee growers. Paul Rice, President and CEO of TransFair USA, discusses some of the economic issues around coffee production.

Tune in February 15 and March 2 at 8pm EST/5pm PST and at 11pm EST/ 8pm PST.

Ghana produces fourteen percent of the world's cocoa, yet many of its farmers live in conditions of extreme poverty. This documentary explains how farmers in Ghana have boosted incomes and cut out middlemen by joining democratically organized cooperatives and selling their cocoa at Fair Trade terms. Watch it here.

When Cathy Eubanks heard she'd won the Discover Fair Trade retail display contest, she was pleased. "I thought it would just be a T-shirt or something." But when she realized the prize was an 8-day tour of Costa Rica, she was shocked. Cathy first learned about Fair Trade from her job at the Wild Oats Market in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she has worked since the store opened six years ago. As the trainer for new employees, she has plenty of opportunities to share her enthusiasm for Fair Trade. "I love talking about Fair Trade - it's one of the best things Wild Oats does." Read more here.

University of Washington officials have approved the sale of Fair Trade Certified espresso in all residence halls. The new roast was specially designed for UW by Tully's Coffee. While vendors across campus have long included Fair Trade Certified drip coffee, this development marks the first time Fair Trade espresso will be available at the major coffee vending locations. Go U Dub!

"As far as impact goes, this is huge," said FTCC member Angela Thurmond. "It's important to focus on the educational aspects [of Fair Trade]. Then, when students leave the campus they'll continue to drink Fair Trade coffee. I think that's the greater goal."

Since the town of Media, Pennsylvania (pop. 5,600) declared itself "America's First Fair Trade Town" last year, enthusiasm has been brewing from communities across the U.S. to get on board. Now Brattleboro, Vermont hopes to become the second U.S. community to receive the designation.

Says Tamara Stenn, the founder of a nonprofit group that promotes fair trade products in developing countries, " We can be known as the second Fair Trade Town in the country and become a model for other towns who want to do the same thing."

If you'd like to make your town a Fair Trade Town, sign up for the Fair Trade Coalitions Yahoo group! To get involved in the Brattleboro Campaign, visit www.ayllumanta.org

Read about more winning campaigns here.

Reach out to your Spanish-speaking audience with this new eight-page mini-booklet, featuring moving full-color photographs and a straightforward explanation in Spanish of how Fair Trade benefits farmers in the developing world. Order the Spanish brochure and other promotional materials for free here.

Our friends at Idealist.org have come up with an innovative way to connect with other folks just like you who want to change the world. Learn more about this new initiative and to see how thousands of people around the world are responding to it.

La Cooperativa de Trabajadores del Sur (COOPETRABASUR) is a banana cooperative located in a remote, economically depressed region of southern Costa Rica. COOPETRABASUR was founded 1980 with help from the Costa Rican government, after a multinational banana corporation withdrew operations from the region. Since getting Fair Trade Certified in 1997, COOPETRABASUR has become the main source of employment in the area, exporting directly and providing a steady income to over 200 families.

COOPETRABASUR members have improved health conditions in the community by eliminating the use of harmful chemicals, purchasing safety equipment, and training members in the proper handling and use of chemicals. In addition, COOPETRABASUR has created buffer zones to protect waterways from pollution, introduced composting and recycling programs to reduce waste, encouraged crop diversification, and invested in local schools. Look for Fair Trade Certified bananas and help support banana growers and the environment!

Your tax-deductible contributions to TransFair USA make it possible for us to continue working with farmers and farm workers in some of the poorest communities in Latin America, Africa, and Asia, helping them access the tools and resources for sustainable economic and community development.

Read about TransFair USA's work to benefit thousands of family farmers and farm workers in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

America's Best Coffee Roasting Company, BuyWell International, Caffe Umbria Coffee Roasting Co, Coex Coffee Int'l, Cultiva Coffee Co, Finlay Tea Solutions, Good Food Organics, High Point Coffee Distributors, Hip Drip, K Bay Caffe Roasting Co, La Reserva Chocolate Co, Methow Valley Roasters, Noble Coffee Roasting, Old Soul Co, Pangaea Coffee, Poverello Coffee, Queen Esther, Santa Barbara Coffee, Taste the World.