Drink Coffee AND Do Good? I'll Have Another Cup Please! (KEURIG GIVEAWAY!)

If you've been reading my blog for any time at all - or, heck, even if you've just seen my profile photo there on the sidebar - you know I am a big coffee lover.  #toptenlistofthingsiamthankfulfor  #sadbuttrue

Every.single.morning.

Hopefully, you also know that I like doing good and helping people. I do.

Anyway, what you might have been able to guess but probably didn't know, is that I'm not - by nature (no pun intended) - the most environmentally conscious citizen out there.  I know. I know.

Of course I love the earth (#alsoinmytopten #oknotreallybutitshouldbe); but, frankly, I'm lazy when it comes to things like recycling and biking and work. 

Thankfully, Green Mountain Coffee® - one of my favorite brands - has deliciously joined two of my loves (coffee and doing good) all while making it incredibly easy for me to do my part to help the environment and stay green.  It's like a win-win-win. :)

Allow me to explain... 

Fair Trade (a term that, if you're like me, you've heard plenty of times before but never really knew what it meant) is a global movement to help improve the lives of farmers and their families.  Since most coffee farmers live in very rural areas with little to no access to credit, they are very vulnerable to the big-box "middlemen" who can pay cash for their coffee even at only a fraction of what its worth.  Fair Trade steps in and assures that coffee farmers get a fair (get it?) price for unroasted, green coffee.  The end result is a better coffee for us and a better quality of life for coffee farmers and their communities.

Did you catch this in my classroom tour?

In 2000, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. became one of the first roasters in the US to offer Fair Trade Certified coffees; and, to date, Green Mountain Coffee® offers one of the largest selections of Fair Trade Certified™ coffees in the U.S, according to Fair Trade USA.  That's pretty impressive! Right?

So my fellow coffee drinkers, I ask you... Why NOT buy Fair Trade coffee?!?! 

This October, Green Mountain Coffee® is celebrating Fair Trade Month through the "Great Coffee, Good Vibes, Choose Fair Trade" campaign.  They have even invited Kelly Clarkson (can I get a "Since You've Been Gone" encore, please?!) to team up with them and share her experience visiting a coffee farm in Peru and the importance of Fair Trade. And, in addition to their already delicious flavors (my personal favorite is Nantucket), they are also introducing the new Fair Trade Certified™ Three Continent Blend -- the perfect combination of flavors and aromas from three different continents in one rich and delicious Extra Bold blend.  Yum!!

To learn more about Fair Trade and Green Mountain Coffee, check out ChooseFairTrade.com, as well as Green Mountain's Facebook page (here). Trust me, what I've shared up above is only the beginning of all of the great benefits of Fair Trade. :)


Want to win your own Keurig® Brewing System and a Green Mountain Coffee® gift basket? Just check out ChooseFairTrade.com to watch exclusive video of Kelly Clarkson's adventures in Peru and learn more about Fair Trade then leave a comment below answering the following question: Are you a coffee drinker, and if so, would you consider buying fair trade coffee?

Sweepstakes Rules: No duplicate comments. You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods: Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry. This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winner will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected. The Official Rules are available here. This sweepstakes runs from 09/19/13-10/31/13.