Happy Veteran's Day!

As we salute our veterans, past and present, we are offering 20% off today, November 11th, to all our customers.

Use coupon code VETDAY13 at www.oceansofchange.net.

We always offer 10% off all purchases everyday to our veterans as a thank you. Use coupon code MIL10.

Thank you for your service!

Buy Fair Be Fair, October is Fair Trade month

This years fair trade month was a great one! The theme is Buy Fair Be Fair and it's one that we can use year round. The great thing is that fair trade products can be found anywhere even your favorite discount stores and if they aren't available just ask!

Happy Halloween!

Make a Stand Fair Trade Lemonade

Inspiring 9 year old Vivienne Harr is doing a great thing to help end child slavery and she's doing it one refreshing cup of lemonade at a time. Read her inspiring story below.

This extra-special blog post comes to us from Vivienne Harr, age 9, a champion against child slavery who operated a lemonade stand for 365 days straight.  Last weekend she celebrated her 1-year anniversary and announced plans to bottle her delicious Make a Stand lemonade, which is made using Fair Trade Certified ingredients.  At the event, Fair Trade USA presented her with an award to acknowledge her incredible work to spread the word about Fair Trade.  

Fair Trade USA is honored to partner with Vivienne to Make a Stand for ending child slavery and improving the lives of farming families around the world. Together we can make a big difference, one bottle of delicious lemon-aid at a time.

365 Days for Freedom

I did it! I made a stand and achieved my goal, and so can you!  My name is Vivienne Harr and I'm excited to let you know that I’ve achieved my goals of selling from a lemonade stand for 365 days straight, raising $150,000, and a lot of child slaves.  What's next?  We'll, I’m trading in my lemonade stand for a lemonade company, so I can sell more lemonade, and free more slaves using Fair Trade Certified Ingredients.

Last year I learned about slavery for the first time.  I saw a photo of two boys from Nepal my own age carrying granite slabs strapped to their heads and backs, holding hands to comfort each other. I decided to free those boys and end child slavery by raising donations through a lemonade stand. By asking customers to “pay what’s in their heart” and by staying open every day, rain or shine, and with a little help from my Mom, brother and Dad who works in social media, within 6 months I raised enough to donate $101,320 to anti-slavery group Not For Sale.

But I didn’t stop there.  When I passed my fundraising goal of $150,000 in 2012, my Mom and Dad said: “Honey, you reached your goal. You’re done,” but I asked: “Is child slavery done? Then, I’m not done.” At that point, I set a new goal, to continue my lemonade stand for a year, and use the rest of the money to start a lemonade company.  My parents say that Make A Stand, Inc. SPC is a social purpose company, where a large part of the profits go to social causes.  But rather than calling it a business, I like to call Make A Stand a “giveness,” because each bottle is more than just a bottle of tasty lemonade, it's a promise to free slaves.  Nothing does this more than using ingredients that are Fair Trade Certified.

We're ending child slavery here! We can't very well use ingredients that aren't Fair Trade. Fair Trade means treating the people who get our ingredients fairly. That seems fair to me. And that's the golden rule, you know? Treat others the way you want to be treated! Fairly!

For every pound of sugar that Make a Stand purchases, farmers earn a fair price that allows them to send their kids to school, build more hospitals and build wells to bring clean drinking water to their communities. Certified farms have to meet tough standards, but in return farmers can make enough money to feed their families, educate their kids and improve their communities.

You see, you don't have to be big and powerful to change the world; you can be...well...just likeme!

Thank you for making a stand with me!

-Vivienne Harr

Fair Trade Certified Lemonade from Make A Stand

Make A Stand is taking pre-orders on its lemonade, targeted for supermarkets and premium grocers across the West Coast.  Pre-order lemonade of your own at www.makeastand.com

Source: Fair Trade USA 

World Fair Trade Day 2013

It's that time of year again, World Fair Trade Day 2013 is scheduled for May 4-19 in 2013. You can look up a celebration in your area to join or host one. Remember to list it on the Fair Trade Resource Network's Events Calendar and order, or download, your free promotional material (customer's pay for shipping), donations for materials are appreciated.

If you register your event remember to request your Fair Trade Certified shirt produced by Fair Trade Apparel in Bangladesh. The front of the shirt has “Do you Trade Fair?” printed vertically from bottom to top and the back has the following text printed: "Trading Fair / helps the people who grow our / food and produce our goods build / secure and rewarding lives". Just post your event on the calendar page to get ordering instructions.

Have a great World Fair Trade Day!

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Grammy winner wears World Finds' jewelry

Grammy winner & uber-stylish musician Esperanza Spalding is a fan of WorldFinds! On her recent tour of Korea and Japan she wore their Cleo Cuff in silver, and Adele Necklace creatively doubled up as a bracelet.



Esperanza won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2011. She beat out favorites Florence + the Machine and Justin Bieber making her the first jazz artist to win the award.

Paired with the dress is the Adele necklace from World Finds, which Esperanza chose to wear as a bracelet. This piece was handmade using colorful hand cut faceted glass beads and brass metal. World Finds‘ Kelly Weinberger shares, “For the Adele, we wanted a necklace that was delicate yet statement-making, that could be worn in an infinite number of ways and easily dressed up or down.” She adds, “This colorful piece was handmade by the talented women at our fair trade artisan group in India.” Several points of inspiration resulted in the ultimate naming of this piece: “When we first designed this necklace, the singer Adele had come into the spotlight. It was also the middle name of a childhood friend. Somehow, (“the Adele”) seemed to fit this necklace!”

The Cleo Cuff, which comes from World Finds, is handmade using silver-toned brass metal. World Finds’ Kelly Weinberger shares the inspiration for the piece: “We wanted to create a slightly more petite version of our best-selling Brass Wire Cuff and were able to work with our fair trade artisan groups in India to create the Cleo.” She adds, “We loved that the look emulated a stack of thin wire bangles, but the cuff style meant that it was easily adjustable.”

Source: World finds; http://www.esperanzaspalding.com/style/

Fair Trade Month 2012 Video

I love this Fair Trade video! It not only explains how easy it is to purchase and locate Fair Trade items at your local grocery store, but how much of a difference just one purchase can make. Simple, yet effective.

Watch at http://www.fairtradeusa.org/fair-trade-month and start making a difference today!