National Press Release from Fair Trade Resource Network website. 

IS THERE A SWEATSHOP IN YOUR HOME? HUNDREDS OF EVENTS PLANNED NATIONWIDE TO ENCOURAGE AMERICANS TO “FAIR TRADE YOUR HOME” Events to Provide Simple But Effective Tips For Creating a Fair Trade Home; Common Household Sweatshop Items That Can be Fairly Traded are Clothing, Home Goods and Chocolate. WASHINGTON, D.C.//April 29, 2010//Is there a sweatshop in your home?  For millions of Americans, the answer is an unwitting yes.  Americans across the country can find out how to replace goods made in sweatshops with Fair Trade products at hundreds of events taking place across the U.S. over the course of the next two weeks to mark World Fair Trade Day on May 8^th  (http://www.fairtraderesource.org/wftd-10/). They can also win great Fair Trade prizes by submitting pictures of fairly traded goods in their homes (http://www.fairtraderesource.org/wftd-10/fair-trade-my-home-contests/). Most Americans would be appalled to learn of the extent to which the everyday items that they use in their homes are produced in sweatshops or even by slave labor.  Widely used household items that fall into this category are all forms of clothing – from t-shirts to dress clothes to jewelry, home goods – including furniture and decorative items, and foods – including chocolate, coffee, sugar and spices.  World Fair Trade Day organizers are calling on Americans to get those sweatshop items out of their home and to instead “Fair Trade your home” to support farmers and artisans worldwide. World Fair Trade Day national campaign coordinator, and Executive Director, Fair Trade Resource Network Jeff Goldman, said:  “There are lots of reasons to celebrate Fair Trade as we bring dignity and justice to millions of vulnerable farmers and artisans around the world. By committing to use Fair Trade goods at home, we can enjoy high quality and take action to improve our world. The Fair Trade system helps producers and suppliers earn a living wage and take steps to protect the environment.  It also serves to empower individuals and communities, support women’s and children’s rights, promote dignity and respect, and connect developing nations with developed nations and markets. World Fair Trade Day is the largest Fair Trade event in North America, with over 65,000 people having participated in 2009.   In the U.S., small businesses, high schools, universities, churches, groups and individuals will be raising awareness about the benefits of buying Fair Trade products.  The theme of this year’s events is “Fair Trade My Home”.  Events across the country include: scavenger hunts, coffee tastings, dinner parties, arts and crafts festivals, and so much more.

Major co-sponsors of World Fair Trade Day include nonprofit and faith-based organizations, such as Green America, Catholic Relief Services, Fair Trade Towns and Fair for Life, as well as retail companies, such as Ben and Jerry’s, Wholesome Sweeteners, Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, and Anti-Body.

5 TIPS TO “FAIR TRADE YOUR  HOME” Some of the best ways to get rid of sweatshop items in your home and to go Fair Trade are as follows: ·         Purchase Fair Trade Coffee, Tea, Sugar, and Cocoa:  When conventionally purchased, these popular food items are often grown in “sweatshops in the fields.”  Buying them Fair Trade Certified™ means that farmers are being paid a fair wage and communities are being supported.·         Purchase Fair Trade clothes – from t-shirts, to shoes to dresses, there is beautiful Fair Trade clothing from all over the world made by artisans who are paid a living wage.·         Buy Fair Trade Home goods – plates, tablecloths, and even furniture can be purchased Fair Trade.·         Buy Fair Trade handicrafts – from vases to sculptures to rugs – Fair Trade artisans produce beautiful crafts. And, when you purchase them from Fair Trade organizations, you know that no child labor or sweatshops were involved. ·         Gift Fair Trade – You can purchase Fair Trade toys for kids, sculptures for adults, and chocolate for everyone on your list.  When you gift Fair Trade, you are giving a high quality product and introducing someone to the value of purchasing Fair Trade every day. About World Fair Trade Day On and around May 8th, people in 80 countries worldwide will hold events to mark World Fair Trade Day in order to highlight the importance and benefits of Fair Trade. Across North America, participants are entering “Fair Trade My Home” contests. Both individuals, as well as organizations, will win Fair Trade prizes for bringing Fair Trade, or deepening Fair Trade, in their homes. Fair Trade supporters will host hundreds of events to encourage the public to take home many Fair Trade items, and enter the contests. Events such as festivals, fashion shows, speeches, food and drink tastings, film showings, sports games, neighborhood crawls, and concerts are being planned to help celebrate the day from May 1-15. CONTACT:   Leslie Anderson, (703) 276-3256 or landerson@hastingsgroup.com.  

Organic Echo Fudge Review

(Reprinted from Busy Mommy Media 4/23/10 – Enter contest to win 2lb. fudge box on their site.)

Fudge is probably the most common of the homemade candies but really doesn’t seem to get made at home very often anymore. It’s relegated to being a treat for when you’re at the beach or when visiting relatives who do make it which means that no one gets as much fudge in their lives as they deserve. The problem with buying fudge is that you very rarely find it outside of specialty shops and probably have about a 50/50 chance of finding out what’s in it. Even if you do find out what ingredients were used, many commercial types use a lot of ingredients that you might not be so thrilled with if you’re trying to stick to an organic diet. Enter Organic Echo, an online purveyor of all manner of organic goods, edible and otherwise. Amid the myriad products they stock is this lovely gift box of organic fudge.

Most organic chocolate products I’ve tasted have honestly not always been that wonderful. Organic Echo fudge, fortunately, does not fall into that category. While it may not be the best fudge ever (that title belongs to my Aunt Teri’s), it is a very solid offering that really has a lot going for it. The texture is more of a firm/semi-crystalline fudge rather than a creamy one, but it does soften and melt nicely on the tongue. I was sent a box of “Rich Rainforest Dark Assorted” which consisted of a half pound of plain fudge and a half pound of fudge with walnuts. I tend to favor plain fudge over that with nuts or other crunchy bits, but the walnuts used here were of good quality and lend a satisfyingly bitter/rich note that contrasts the deep cocoa flavors of the fudge quite nicely. I noted the addition of marshmallow creme in the ingredients list, and I generally see that as a major plus given that most of the recipes that I favor also contain it. The ingredients also include things like minimally processed sugars and the addition of “Love and Gratitude” at the end of the list.

One thing I was somewhat surprised to see included in the ingredients list was palm oil listed in the “natural oil blend” given how controversial that can be and how carefully the rest of the ingredients have been selected. The only other concern I had was that every square contains 120 calories and 7 grams of fat, but that’s really more of a problem with fudge in general and not terribly specific to this type.

All in all, this would make a great gift for the organically-inclined types in your life. It comes in an attractive package that makes it easy to save or share and is a good excuse to go browse through the Organic Echo site.

For years I didn’t have any luck with homemade organic chocolate brownie recipes, they always came out hard and I had to resort to the nasty boxed mixes that still have trans fats, until I found this recipe at allrecipes.com. These are so soft and yummy! But I’ve adapted and tweaked it a little. Note: these are more of a cake-like brownie, but very moist and dreamy.

ORGANIC CREAM CHEESE CHOCOLATE BROWNIES

Ingredients:

(Use as many organic ingredients as you can find and are willing to pay extra for, I’ll make note below of where I do and do not use organic.)

photo by swruler9284

• 4 (1 ounce) squares German sweet chocolate (I didn’t have that on hand so instead used 4+ ounces of organic chocolate chips)
• 5 T. organic butter
• 1 (3 ounce) package organic cream cheese, softened – I make it myself with our fresh/”raw” milk (it’s SO easy to make, by the way)
• 1/4 c. sugar – I use organic evaporated cane juice sugar – (or equivalent Agave)
• 3 eggs – preferably from a local farm with pasture-fed chickens
• 1 T. all-purpose flour – I use half organic whole wheat pastry flour (which I grind in my grain mill) and half Bob’s Red Mill unbleached, unbromated white flour
• 1/2 t. organic vanilla extract
• 3/4 c. sugar (see note above)
• 1/2 t. no-aluminum baking powder
• 1/4 t. sea salt 
• 1/2 c. all-purpose flour (see note above)
• 1/2 c. chopped crispy pecans (optional)
• 1 t. vanilla extract (see note above)

1. Melt chocolate with 3 T. of the butter over very low heat. Stir constantly until smooth. Set aside to cool.
2. Cream remaining 2 T. butter with cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add 1/4 c. sugar. Cream until light and fluffy. Blend into this 1 of the eggs, 1 T. flour and 1/2 t. vanilla. Set aside.
3. Now beat the remaining 2 eggs until light and fluffy. Gradually beat into them 3/4 c. sugar. Continue beating until thickened. Stir in the baking powder, salt and 1/2 c. flour. Add to this the cooled chocolate mixture. Blend well. Stir in the nuts and 1 t. vanilla.
4. Spread half of the chocolate batter into an 8×8? buttered glass baking dish. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the top. Then drop the remaining chocolate batter by tablespoons over the top of the cream cheese mixture. Swirl through batter layers with a spatula or knife for a marbled effect.
5. Bake in a preheated 350* F (175* C) oven for 35-40 minutes. Cool in the pan. Cut into squares or bars.
6. Being the chocoholic I am, I then sprinkle more chocolate chips on the top after the brownies come out of the oven – they melt into a yummy frosting.
7. A few notes since I just made this again: I doubled the recipe for a 9×13, and it took about 45 minutes, but oven temps can vary, so keep an eye on it. (I pulled it out when it was soft on top and felt almost set, but not too firm – I don’t like them too done.) Lastly, the chocolate color is lighter than in the picture above, so don’t worry if yours don’t look just like that! (It has that swirled look to it, though.)