Equal Exchange, one of BuzzFlash's Fair Trade providers offers this tasty organic hot cocoa: "Our delicious fairly traded organic hot cocoa has a rich chocolatey flavor that children and adults will love. Easy to make with hot water -- the milk is in the mix! This product helps farmers in 3 countries -- the organic cocoa is from small-scale farmers in the Dominican Republic, the organic sugar is fairly traded from farmer cooperatives in Paraguay, and the organic milk powder is from U.S. dairy cooperatives. Gluten-free."

Equal Exchange answers the question, What makes Fair Trade cocoa products different?

"Whereas most cocoa on the world market is bought 'blind' through importers and brokers, the flow of Fair Trade Certified cocoa is monitored - from the farmers to the store shelf - by independent, non-profit, certifying organizations. These two organizations, FLO International and TransFair USA, guarantee that the cocoa was produced and traded in a socially responsible manner, specifically that:

- International Labor Organization Conventions 29, 105 and 138 on child labor and forced labor are adhered to.

- the cocoa was bought directly from a democratically controlled cooperative of small scale farmers. This helps them to gain more control of their livelihoods and ensures farmers a higher percentage of cocoa export revenues.

- the cooperative was paid at least $1,950 per metric ton of organic cocoa. In 2000 the market price dropped as low as $640/ton.

Only cocoa products meeting these conditions may carry the TransFair USA Fair Trade Certified label."

BuzzFlash started Fair Trade Monday to offer our readers premium options that help improve the lives of workers throughout the world.

Fair Trade organic hot cocoa is one way to have your chocolate fix and help ensure equitable wages to exploited farmers and workers overseas.

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