On the second Saturday of May, organizations and businesses spread the word about fair trade by hosting everything from fair trade coffee tastings, to fashion shows, to product sales.

Now in it’s seventh year, "World Fair Trade Day" was initiated by Safia Minney, founder of People Tree, and adopted by IFAT and its members at the 2001 Full Meeting, to promote stronger global awareness of Fair Trade. This year’s theme is Fair Trade + Ecology, which highlights one of the principles of fair trade that is sometimes overlooked.

Fair Trade principles protect the environment while promoting sustainable development for stakeholders. Because Fair Trade is committed to paying workers a living wage and works in long-term partnerships, it enables workers, farmers, and artisans invest in environmentally friendly production methods. Learn more about Fair Trade Sports' environmental impact in our previous posts.

We'd love to hear how you celebrate today. If you'd like to share, drop us a line (and we love pictures too!)

The greatest green gift we can think of is spending some quality time outdoors with mom this year, telling her how special she is and what she really means to you.

While we advocate for less consumption, not more - we have found a few cool new eco-gifts this year that can help you plan your day celebrating mom.

1. A Biodegradable umbrella. The Brelli (pictured) is sustainably made from bamboo that has a biodegradable clear canopy that protects you from the elements. According to the Brelli website, it can withstand heavy downpours and high winds and when discarded will completely breakdown in a landfill in less than five years!

2. The World’s First Solar powered Bluetooth headset. For the mom on the go who needs to be hands-free, Iqua has made the world’s first solar powered Bluetooth headset. The Iqua 603 SUN has all the features of a standard Bluetooth headset and also has a small photovoltaic cell that charges the set from indoor and outdoor light sources.

3. VeriFlora Flowers. If your mom like more traditional gifts, try sending Fair Trade Organic flowers from OrganicBouquet.com. These flowers have been VeriFlora certified, a third party verification program that establishes healthy environmental and fair labor procedures for agricultural production and handling practices, from soil preparation and seed planting through production, harvest, and post-harvest distribution.

4. Redefine what it means to be a soccer mom. Wikipedia says “The term [soccer mom] has been extended in popular culture to include mothers anxiously running their children errands in oversized SUV vehicles while chatting on their cell phone. To some extent the phrase has begun taken on a negative stigma.” Help redefine what it means to be a soccer mom – perhaps with a kids vs. parents soccer showdown in the backyard? We can supply the necessary gear…

5. Chocolate. Sometimes the classics are the best. Equal Exchange offers a great variety of Fair Trade organic chocolate bars available online and in stores nationwide including some great new flavors like Organic Chocolate Espresso Bean and Organic Dark Chocolate with Pure Cocoa Nibs. Yum.

The video (shown to the right) shows a split screen, depicting a day in the life of a well-off child from a Western country versus a day in the life of a poor child who is forced to work in a shoe factory sweatshop.

Ed O’Brien said Radiohead became interested in the issue in part because of author Naomi Klein’s book No Logo which highlighted the production-to-retail practices of companies. Klein's book also ranks as one of my favorites.

The Hollywood Reporter reports that lead singer Thom Yorke lauded MTV for taking on such issues, given the fact that the network's hands aren't exactly clean.

Yorke said the band had linked with MTV to highlight such issues as child slavery, enforced servitude and sex trafficking because it was "about exploiting a situation while you have the chance."

"All power to MTV for taking this on because its obviously going to be difficult for them in terms of the advertisers," he said. "If you talk about slave labour, then the issue of cheap goods from the East is all about that.

With the [All I Need] video their lawyers had to beg to make sure there wasn't a single white [sneaker] with a logo on it because the implication would be a little too close. But the implication is still there," he concluded.

I spend a good portion of my working hours with the Not For Sale Campaign, fighting against slave labor in a way that my skill set allows (ecommerce, marketing, biz dev, that kind of thing). It is a logical tie-in to my other company, Fair Trade Sports, with our certified Fair Trade sports balls (read: adult workers paid a fair wage and ensured healthy working conditions).

If you are so inclined, we'd love to have your help with the Not For Sale Campaign. We've got lots of volunteer opportunities. You can make a direct, positive impact on this global problem...

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!

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.

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.

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.

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!

• 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

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...

Joel, we agree that you have mad skillz! And we think you're right, the office probably isn't the best place for soccer. Next time, we suggest using our felt-covered Indoor Soccer Ball or our synthetic leather Futsal Ball.

We are starting the countdown to the start of the regular Major League Soccer Season which kicks off (sorry, couldn't resist the pun) on March 29th at 4 pm E.S.T. featuring the Toronto FC vs. the Columbus Crew. Here in Seattle, we are also counting down to the addition of a pro team in our town coming in 2009.

While the MLS doesn’t use our Fair Trade soccer balls (yet), you can order all your soccer gear for your season from our online store any time. Wholesale discounts start at quantities of 10 balls per order.

In keeping with their green roots, The Green Guide is made of post-consumer recycled paper with new pulp from wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (yes, the same group that certifies our rubber). In addition, the inks are made without heavy metals to keep the eco-footprint even lower. When you pick up your copy, check out Fair Trade Sports featured on Page 12.

Click here for a sneak peek.

I've found guerrilla marketing for our Fair Trade soccer balls to be both fun and frustrating. Fun because I enjoy seeing Fair Trade Sports budget dollars go to our adult stitchers, rather than marketing items like huge celebrity advertising campaigns. But frustrating because relying on positive word of mouth as your primary advertising tool is an inexact science.

If that sounds interesting, check out the article on Green Guys Global. While you are there, be sure to jump over to their sister site Green Girls Global. Both sites are highly recommended.

Her father runs the snack shop in the soccer ball stitching center 200 yards away, which was built by Talon Sports, our Fair Trade soccer ball supplier. Sameena goes there to stitch soccer balls, too. After home-based stitching stopped, the center became one of the first places where women could continue such work. As companies moved the work into big factory units in order to prevent child labor, they effectively locked out women who could not be away from home for the whole day.

Sameena is one of 11 siblings, seven sisters and four brothers. Two of the older ones also stitch balls. Stitching wages are low - only Fair Trade buyers like Fair Trade Sports pay enough to enable the three to provide their family with all the basic necessities.

Sameena never had the chance to attend school - instead, she has been contributing to the family income from early on, and has now been stitching for three years. The family has a small hut and a kitchen garden, where everyone helps out.

Recently Sameena had to have a thyroid operation - the bandage on her neck was still there. All costs were paid by the Talon Fair Trade Welfare Society - the health care program made possible by the Fair Trade premiums, a first for workers, which include Sameena and her family.