When I go shopping now, I look for items that are Fair Trade certified or show that the company is fairly paying their employees and laborers. One company that supports Fair Trade is Trade as One. When I search for tea, coffee and chocolate, I only purchase if the company has fairly paid for their ingredients.

Our mission is to use fair trade to promote sustainable business and break cycles of poverty and dependency in the developing world. We all have a conscience. We want to make sure people get the chance to use it when they shop.

I love their Mission statement. Trade as One truly cares about the well being of everyone, not just the satisfaction of the consumer. Paying fair wages for fair work in third world countries helps people get out of poverty. By buying Fair Trade, you support fair wages. When we are driven to just consume without really caring where these products come from, we cast a vote for cheap products and unfair treatment of employees. Our purchases cast votes for the kind of products we want to purchase. Wouldn’t it be great if our spending could aid those in poverty, instead of keep them there?

Here at Trade as One we’re passionate about using our spending to address 3 crises. First, the HIV/AIDS pandemic. It’s an emergency on an unprecedented scale. Second, the problem of human slavery. Fair Trade is about both prevention through employing vulnerable women, and bringing hope and restoration to survivors. Lastly, the problem of extreme poverty. The worst evils in the world are rooted in the desperation of extreme poverty, and Fair Trade employment is a sustainable route out of that desperation.

Trade as One sent me Tea and Coffee, both are Fair Trade certified. I was sent the Organic Green Tea with Essence of Peach from Choice Organic Teas. I love green tea so this was amazing with just an added sweetness of peach! Yummy! I think this would taste good cold too! The Box came with 20 individually wrapped tea bags. Choice Organic Tea was the first company to adopt Fair Trade Certified in the US back in 2000. Half of choice’s production of tea is fair trade. Buying fair trade from Choice means that they can supply their tea pluckers with fair wages and a safe working environment. For example, this supports women on the Korakundah Tea Estate, in the Nilgiri region of India. These women use their wages to help support themselves upon retirement because they will continue to receive a monthly payment when they return to their native villages. You can read more about Choice HERE.

I was sent the Trade as One Peace Blend from the Thanksgiving Coffee Company.  I haven’t tried the coffee yet {and probably never will}, but I am sure my husband will love it! This whole bean coffee is made in Uganda and Ethiopia with a blend of rich dark berry flavors of sun-dried Ethiopian Sidamo blended with vanilla and nutmeg notes and earthy body of Ugandan Bugisu. In 2003, Ugandan farmer JJ Keki walked door-to-door asking his Muslim, Christian, and Jewish neighbors to unite and face their struggle with poverty caused by exploitation and low coffee prices. The farmers joined together, and founded a cooperative, which would ultimately bring peace and unity to the farmers and workers. You can read more about Thanksgiving Coffee HERE.

If buying Fair Trade is important to you, check out Trade as One to see how you can support companies like Choice Organic Teas and Thanksgiving Coffee. Our purchases affect those that make the products, so vote for fair trade when you can.