As I continue to write and think about the issue of Fair Trade it becomes more and more apparent to me that our economic system is a root cause for a wide array of our world’s woes. Instances of poverty, disease, wars (and the dehumanization that accompanies all three) and our quickly degrading environment occuring all over the world, but especially in the poorer Southern hemisphere, can all be traced back to an economic system that prizes pure economic profit above all else: above fairer distribution of the world’s wealth, above the health of the world’s poor, above the lives of those unfortunate enough to live in resource rich regions targeted by corporations (and therefore governments and militaries) and even, amazingly, above nature and its delicate environment that produces these economically valuable resources. This economic system, very obviously, is unfair and unsustainable. We can do better.

Fair Trade is proving that an economic system that focuses on a triple-bottom line, considering people, plant and profit as equally important outcomes of business operation, can work, and work better, for everyone and everything involved. October is Fair Trade Month and Global Exchange’s Fair Trade Month page says it best, this is indeed “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.”

So this is the month to get involved and make some collective noise about economic justice and sustainability. One great way to shout out is to direct a video about Fair Trade for the Connect with Fair Trade Video Contest. Doing so could just end in your visiting a Peruvian Fair Trade farming co-operative courtesy of TransFair. If you make a great video and end up winning, I also suggest you write to GO editor Jeff McIntire-Strausburg and offer to do a write-up of your experience in Peru.

According to TransFair 56% of people who are aware of Fair Trade make a point to purchase Fair Trade certified products whenever available. Help increase awareness and availability of Fair Trade products by encouraging your local grocery market to carry Fair Trade and participate in the Fair Trade month celebration. TransFair makes it easy with educational marketing materials and contest promotions to intrigue customers.

Perhaps my favorite Fair Trade month promotion joins activism and a great holiday, Halloween. Order your Fair Trade Trick or Treat action kit from Global exchange and you’ll have everything you need to tell others just how boo-tiful(!) trade can be: tasty chocolate from Equal Exchange and knowledge of a better way to trade.

At the very least, talk to your friends and family about this idea, email this article around, whatever little bit you can do to just keep the Fair Trade buzz growing.

(Written for Green Options)

(Originally published at Green Options)

Google Earth recently launched their Outreach program to raise awareness about various issues. Outreach is intended to give non-profits "the resources, tools, and inspiration that they need to leverage the power of Google Earth for their cause."

There are many groups which are harnessing this visual power. Having already reached many through the visually powerful mountain-top removal through the Appalachian Voices and mapping the destruction that has raged across Sudan, Google realized the unique opportunity to connect people across the world. "At Google, we believe technology can be a catalyst for education and action," Elliot Schrage, Google’s vice president, said in a statement.

The United Nations Environment Programme are using the satellite pictures as a "wake-up all to of us to look at the sometimes devastating changes we are wreaking on our planet." Using images focused on hot spots, their goal is to help people identify and understand the damage humans are causing upon the planet, and then to help them make an effort to change. Many issues ranging from water shortages, forest and biodiversity loss to climate change occur over a period of time which makes it difficult to appreciate the degree of damage that has occurred. Through approximately 30 years of images condensed to a time-sequence series, the viewer is able to visually connect the statics with powerful images.

Fair Trade Certified products was the newest layer announced, along with the Global Heritage Fund and Earthwatch Expeditions. This new layer allows consumers to view information on TransFair USA certified products. Over 70 co-ops are marked, including coffee, tea, chocolate, mangoes, and bananas. Each co-ops pop-up includes a picture as well as information about the Co-op, it’s location and community betterment programs which result from the sale of their Fair Trade goods. Creating this connection between consumers and producers is essential for honest and fair trade for when there is a person behind the product people are more likely to respect the humanity that went into production.

As Dr. Jane Goodall said, "Only if we understand can we care. Only if we care will we help. With Google Earth Outreach, more people have the chance to see, to care, and then to act."

To access these new layers simply download Google Earth and expand the Global Awareness layer to see those available and check out the many Fair Trade products and the people who grow them.

Originally posted at Green Options.

Chocolate, along with coffee and tea, is one of the most popular Fair Trade certified products available. Côte d’Ivoire is the largest producer of cocoa in the world, and the abundance of this popular ingredient has played a major role in the country’s political crisis. A diplomatic source in Abidjan made the comparison that cocoa in Côte d’Ivoire “is the same as timberor diamonds were in Liberia.”

Read more at Green Options