A new online magazine has launched recently out of Colorado called eCo Times.

They report the latest on sustainable lifestyle choices and the new green economy, including an eCo Times piece yesterday on Fair Trade Sports. Their objective is to bring readers like you and me the best in cutting edge green media, organic and Fair Trade product reviews, and insights into viable planetary solutions. This is the same crew behind the eConscious Market.

The eCo Times mantra statement - "We’re putting the logic back into ecological." - resonates with me as well!

It seems that I’m not the only one anxious to get outside to play soccer with my son the minute it stops raining (pictured here in his kids tee shirt).

Fair Trade Sports has been cropping up quite a bit in the blogosphere this spring as parents prepare to toss the kids outside. Here are a couple of our favorites:

From Mamanista – Fabulously Chic, Irresistibly Practical. “Although I never took to sports, my husband is athletic and my little girl is already enjoying soccer. Sports teach discipline, teamwork, and coordination and keep children healthy. We have a small Fair Trade Sports soccer ball for baby to kick around with her friends.

Children have a right to be children–to play, learn, and explore. There is something dreadfully wrong children forced to work in unhealthy conditions, and it is even more disturbing to think that less economically privileged children might be making toys for children in more developed countries. Every kid has a right to a childhood.”

From Cool Mom Picks – We Find It, You Flaunt It. “Thanks to the toy recalls, I am much more concerned about where and how the toys I'm purchasing for my kids are made. But it's not always as easy to get the backstory on your playthings as Fair Trade Sports makes it.

Perhaps it doesn't seem like having a certified fair trade soccer ball or basketball or rugby ball is such a big deal--but don't you think a ball should make more of an impact on the child playing with than the child who is forced to hand stitch it for 4 cents an hour?”

Fair Trade Sports wants to thank all the parents who continue to teach their children about Fair Trade ethical purchasing and to the people who help share our mission with their readers through the blogosphere.

I'd like to introduce you to a crew of folks at a new startup called EVO from Santa Monica, California.

People everywhere are actively looking for ways to do their part to address the climate changes that are impacting our planet.

Unfortunately being an environmentally conscious consumer is not as easy as it should be – good information is disaggregated and hard to find. EVO provides a huge selection of green products, services, and information all in one place.

So far they’ve handpicked 400 companies - like Fair Trade Sports - representing more than 20,000 green products and services. From hybrid vehicles to home furnishings to sports balls, their goal is to make it easy for you to make greener choices every day.

While government and big business have major roles to play in the rapid shift necessary to bring our delicate ecosystem back into balance, each person’s daily choices multiplied by 300 million people in the U.S. (and billions worldwide) can add up to a major collective impact. EVO’s goal is to make it easy for individuals to make greener choices every day.

If each of us chose locally grown organic produce, changed at least a single light bulb, made sure our next car got more than 40mpg - we would go a long way toward decreasing the demand for wasteful, harmful products and increasing our quality of life now and for our children. Check out EVO.

When in doubt, I like to encourage less consumption, not more. But if you cannot find a good used version of what you are looking for, check out this video of cool green products from Green Festival Seattle, just in time for Earth Day.

LifeGoggles has launched what might turn out to be the world's biggest green competition on the web!

The contest is simple: There are five different actions you can perform which each earn you entries to the contest such as blogging about the contest on your own site and leaving feedback about recently reviewed green products on LifeGoggles.com.

Obviously the more actions you complete, the more times you can enter and the greater your chances of winning one of 72 (and counting) eco prizes, including a "Right to Education" Soccer Ball from us.

The contest runs through April 30th. For entry details, visit the LifeGoggles Great Green Giveaway page.

I've never had such fun that included so little sleep and losing my voice. I believe that is my new litmus test for how successful a show is.

Our team had a wonderful time seeing old friends from Guayaki and Grounds for Change, making new friends at Better World Books (Go Irish!) and ChicoBag, while being fueled by massive amounts of acai smoothies from Sambazon.

We did a fair number of interviews with journalists regarding our world's-first eco-certified sports balls. Look for the coverage over the next week or so. It's fun to see a journalist's eyes widen when you describe your product line; it's not often they get to see something really different, especially a completely new entry into the world of Fair Trade and green products.

And many thanks to Coop America's Chip Py the photo guy, for the use of this shot.

Join Fair Trade Sports for the first ever Seattle Green Festival this weekend (April 12-13) at the Convention Center downtown!

Green Fest shows off the latest in sweatshop-free clothing, organic beer and wine, recycled products, Fair Trade, vegetarian cuisine, renewable energy and more. It will be a weekend full of speakers, 300 business exhibitors, and even a clothing swap! With admission to Green Festival you will also be offered a FREE Co-op America membership.

I'll be speaking at these times and on these topics. If you are in town, stop by to heckle me. :)

Saturday, April 12, 1PM: Sweat-Free Seattle Campaign Join myself and Global Exchange’s Valerie Orth and Elizabeth Swager to discuss how your city or town can adopt laws that prohibit local institutions from purchasing goods made in sweatshops. Together, we can create a substantial market for goods made by workers who get paid a living wage, are treated with dignity and respect, and have a voice on the job.

Saturday, April 12, 5PM: Eco-Certified Fair Trade Sports Come hear how we can kick sweatshops off the playing fields of our schools and parks with eco-certified Fair Trade sports balls and uniforms.

Sunday, April 13, 2PM: Fully Committed Fair Trade Businesses What makes a business Fair Trade? Join me to hear how the Fair Trade Federation ensures local business practices have a positive impact on producers a world away.

Be sure to stop by the Fair Trade Sports booth to get more information about our products, sign up for this blog (as if you haven’t already), purchase FTS balls just in time for the sunny part of spring in Seattle, or just say hi.

For more information or to register, visit www.greenfestivals.org. We have a number of free guest passes; just ask for them under the Fair Trade Sports name when you enter the building. First come, first serve. Enjoy the show!

Waylon Lewis is a funny guy. Quite funny, in fact, but also a poignant speaker on current events. Take a glimpse into life in Boulder, Colorado in this short elephant magazine video clip of Waylon. Be sure to check out the rest of their video series as well.



Props to Mathew Gerson at eConscious Market for supplying Waylon with the Fair Trade soccer ball to pitch from the stage.

We have several friends at OKé USA - the Fair Trade bananas folks - whose farmers need our help. 

As you may know, coastal Ecuador has experienced devastating flooding caused by heavier-than-usual seasonal rains since late January. El Guabo, a cooperative of 500 small farms in that region, are OKé USA farmer partners.  One member’s son was killed, several farmers have lost all of their land, and others have had their productivity severely impaired by the damage. 

Banana farming is the mainstay of the local economy and the effects of the damage ripple beyond their farmers to impact everyone employed in the region, from field hands and packing house workers to truck drivers and cantina owners.  You can see pictures of the damage OKé USA farmers have incurred on their blog.

The Board of Directors at El Guabo askign for help to raise funds for a Bobcat compact excavator for the cooperative.  This piece of machinery would help them drain the flooded farms of their members and do preventative maintenance to mitigate the impact of future floods.  OKé USA estimates that a used excavator would run $20,000 and has already 14% of that pledged.  

You can donate online at www.buythebobcat.org.

Overview of Damage of Ecuador Flooding
A birdeye view of loss in Ecuador:

• 51,300 people affected
• 3,645 people evacuated
• 490 experienced property loss
• 24 provinces affected
• 4 dead

OKé Farm damage

• 25 acres of organic farm land
• 300 acres of conventional farm land
• 4% decreased production
• 6-9 month estimate to recover from damages

Actually, we always have (ahem, some of us are less fluent than others and you may not make fun of my pronunciation), but now our website speaks Spanish, too.

You'll find the links to switch languages in the upper right portion of our blog and ecommerce store. We've also got the blog in French for our Canadian neighbors. For those of you who are bilingual, please give the translated pages a try and let us know your feedback.

Espero que disfrute de nuestro blog y la tienda de comercio electrónico...