The good folks at Indigenous Designs are fully embracing Fair Trade Month and have taken our push towards interactivity and connectivity to the next level with their "I Love Fair Trade" contest. In partnering with the popular blog Your Olive Branch and Fair Trade superstars Alter Eco, they are offering $2,000 worth of Fair Trade goodness to the contestant who has best articulated and expressed their love for Fair Trade. The submissions have come in all forms of multimedia, from user videos and songs to stories and poems. One contestant even created a massive collage depicting a cocoa farm in Africa. A panel of judges made the tough decisions in whittling the contest down to the ten best submissions, and now it is up to you to decide a winner! Northern California-based Indigenous works with Fair Trade field organizing teams throughout South America to bring high quality textiles and handicrafts from over 300 artisan work groups to the US market. These groups knit and hand-loom artisan textiles in the styles and methods of their ancestors, preserving the rich cultural heritages of different peoples from around South America. Strict Fair Trade standards are inherent in the production model, providing fair wages to workers, ensuring environmental sustainability, supporting safe and healthy workplaces, helping infrastructure growth, and above all respecting the cultural identity of the community.

"I’ve seen the devastation firsthand caused to my family, my friends due to heartless corporations. The local museum has pictures of how beautiful our town once was, a thriving little fishing town devastated by gross pollution. Because I lived the despair the others are now living, I make sure to buy as much Fair Trade as I possibly can." -Contestant Ana Avalos

Help Indigenous Designs make a difference in communities and the lives of textile workers throughout South America. Every purchase you make provides fair wages and ensures economic, environmental and social sustainability. And be sure to vote for the best "I Love Fair Trade" submission today!