It's still October, and the theme of this year's Fair Trade Month is "Connect with Fair Trade." Enter our Fair Trade Month sweepstakes and tell us how you connect with Fair Trade. You could win a $100 gift certificate for Fair Trade products.

Our Connect with Fair Trade Video contest is still going strong! We’ll be accepting submissions through the month of October, so get out the camera and tell us how you connect with Fair Trade on video! One lucky winner and a guest will travel to Peru to visit Fair Trade farms.

Enter the Divine Chocolate Recipe Contest. Submit your unique Diving Chocolate recipe and tell them why you are hungry to change the world. You can win great prizes, including a trip to DC!

Attention, teachers! Sam's Club is offering a Fair Trade Study Grant, a weeklong, intensive study of how Fair Trade Certified coffee is produced and the impact Fair Trade has on Brazilian communities. Study grants will be awarded to teachers who express exceptional ideas to educate students on the economic, social and business lessons surrounding Fair Trade. The contest is open through December 15th. Get writing!

Change.org, a dynamic new networking site for non-profit organizations and their supporters, awarded TransFair USA with a premium social network. Join TransFair USA’s Change.org community to become a part of this exciting new way to network with other Fair Trade supporters.

The New York Times ran a great article about Fair Trade called "Fair Trade in Bloom" on the cover of the business section. It's got a lot of people buzzing. Read the article here.

Bill Clinton visited the Martha Stewart Show on September 26th to talk about his website mycommitment.org. Bill and Martha agree that buying Fair Trade Certified products is a great commitment to building a better world. Watch it here!

Last month Tully's announced that they were making the switch: 100% Fair Trade Organic Espresso at all 138 locations! Not only that, they're also launching compostable coffee cups and a composting program, which are projected to reduce in-store waste at Tully's by 70%!

Fair Trade Month is a success! Supporters kicked off Fair Trade month with a bang, organizing Fair Trade coffee giveaways in dozens of cities across the nation, helping to push awareness of Fair Trade into the mainstream. And that was just the beginning! The Fair Trade Resource Network put together this great list of Fair Trade Month events. Check to see what’s going on in your region as Fair Trade Month keeps rolling along.

In 2002, a group of small-scale banana producers formed Asociación de Trabajadores Agrícolas Autónomos (Cerro Azul) in order to overcome the problems brought on by the Ecuadorian government's virtual abandonment of the agricultural sector. Trading their 100% organic bananas under Fair Trade terms has allowed Cerro Azul to improve the socioeconomic conditions of its community as it conserves the local environment. 

“Fair Trade has increased the income of our members, decreased migration, provided employment opportunities to the community, and improved the self-esteem of small-scale banana producers.”
--- Iván Ramón, Cerro Azul Member

Beginning October 29, TransFair USA’s office will be located at 1500 Broadway, Suite 400, Oakland, CA 94612. It’s just across the street; we have too much local love to leave Oakland.  All phone and fax numbers will remain the same.  Our office will be closed on moving day, Friday, October 26th.  Phone contact will be limited throughout the day.

As a non-profit, TransFair depends on the financial support of friends like you to expand our work empowering consumers and producers to build a more equitable and sustainable model of international trade in which all benefit. Click here to make a donation online, or contact our Development Department at (510) 663-5260 or via email at development@transfairusa.org for more information or to discuss your donation options. Looking for a fun way to donate? Support our Virtual Bake Sale for Hope! Thank you!