Every day this October FairTradeUSA will be highlighting several of the great companies that bring Fair Trade products to your grocer’s shelves, as well some of the international organizations that work closely with Fair Trade on the ground. Today is Global Exchange’s day! Stay tuned to the FairTradeUSA blog, Facebook page and Twitter page to see how you can enter to win a bag of Global Exchange label Thanksgiving Fair Trade coffee!

Cross-posted from the FairTradeUSA blog:

October is Fair Trade Month and Global Exchange wants you to get involved. It’s a month when we can celebrate the power that the Fair Trade movement has had around the world, linking you the consumer to the producer and their community. Throughout the years, Global Exchange has highlighted the importance of building the Fair Trade movement by making people-to-people ties in communities locally and globally.

This Halloween, get out your Fair Trade banana costume and participate in Reverse-Trick-or-Treating. The goal is for trick-or-treaters to switch it up and go door to door passing out informational cards attached with Fair Trade chocolate to raise awareness in their communities about poverty alleviation and economic justice for cocoa farmers around the world. Hear (and see) what last year’s participants had to say about this fun and creative action.

Can’t wait until the end of the month to help build the Fair Trade movement? Throughout October, you can participate in Global Exchange’s scavenger hunt which will bring you from the supermarket to the classroom and even to your Congressperson to promote an economic system that is better for workers and the planet. One clue will bring you to Global Exchange’s Fair Trade stores, where you will learn more about the producer groups we work with. One group of artisans we recently connected with in Rajasthan, India has been using an ancient technique of mud-block-printing to preserve a practice that is slowly disappearing while employing both men and women and strengthening the community.

Besides the incentive of spreading the Fair Trade word, participating in our scavenger hunt will make you eligible to win up to $200 in Fair Trade prizes. Build the movement and win.

With October well underway, it is time to reflect on the reasons behind making our purchases matter. With over 2.6 billion people in the world living in poverty, Fair Trade makes a difference in the lives of farmers, women and the environment. But only if people know about it.  Only 30% of Americans know what Fair Trade is—and we need your help to grow the movement this month. Join Global Exchange, Fair Trade USA and hundreds of other organizations and advocates out there to create a system of fairness, equality and sustainability.

Get more information of Global Exchange’s Fair Trade campaign: www.globalexchange.org/cocoa.
Pick coffee in Nicaragua, chocolate in the Dominican Republic, tea in Nepal or olives in Palestine on a Reality Tours Fair Trade delegation.
Visit our Fair Trade stores.
And of course, read our Fair Trade blog for the latest news and views of the movement.