Don’t let fair-trade fall of the G20 agenda. Egg on your favorite politician with this fun game from Divine Chocolate. And register your support for a global fair trade agenda.

Greenwashed products are often plastered with labels such as biodegradable, cruelty-free, eco-safe, environmentally-friendly, environmentally-preferable, environmentally-safe, or non-toxic. But the sad reality is that these labels are meaningless as they are not legally defined or enforced.

Want to make sure you are getting the real earth-friendly deal? Here’s a quick list of the labels to look for at the store. For in-depth info on sorting out the green from the greenwashed, check out The Green Parent: A-Kid Friendly Guide to Earth-Friendly Living.

USDA Certified Organic
Look for this label on produce, dairy, and meats to ensure that they are produced without the use of chemical pesticides or fertilizers or genetically modified ingredients.

Fair Trade Certified
If you see the Fair Trade logo on food, clothing, and wood products, you can be sure it was produced with consideration for both the environment and the workers who brought it to you.

Leaping Bunny
The Leaping Bunny logo on cosmetics, personal care products and household products indicates that the product is truly “cruelty-free”

FSC Certified
The Forest Stewardship Council certifies lumber, paper products, and furniture to ensure that the trees used to make them were harvested sustainably.

Energy Star
Look for the Energy Star label on appliances and products such as computers, toasters, dishwashers, and even windows. Products that bear this label use less water and energy than comparable models.

Coffee is the second largest agricultural crop in the world, after cotton. It is also the third most heavily sprayed crop in the world; cotton and tobacco are first and second. If you drink conventional, non-organic coffee, you are likely consuming a slew of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. And these chemicals are not only terrible for your health, but they are also harmful to the fields, streams, animals, birds and people who live where the beans are grown. Coffee can be even more destructive than other crops because it is often grown at high elevations where chemical effects are amplified.

Never fear coffee drinkers! Earth-friendly options are here and more plentiful than ever. Here’s how to make sure your java is green:

• Go Organic: Organic coffee beans are grown without the use of those damaging and dangerous chemical pesticides and fertilizers. Grown with consideration for the surrounding ecosystem, organic coffee farms offer shade cover and habitat to hundreds of species, especially migratory song birds. The birds, in turn, do their part by acting as a natural, biological defense against many of the bugs and pests that may cause damage to a coffee crop. So you get chemical free coffee and the birds get a chemical free home. It’s win-win for everyone!

• Be Fair: Look for the Fair Trade label on your coffee beans to ensure that the farmers who brought you those beans were paid a fair price. Coffee that carries the Fair Trade logo has been grown by farmers who are part of a community cooperative that promotes quality farming practices and reinvestment in the local area.

• Reuse It: Whether you’re at home, at work, or on the go…don’t be a tosser. Fill up a reusable mug with your eco-friendly brew and reduce the amount of paper and styrofoam that’s sent to the landfill!

Java Facts To Go

• 3/4 of the world’s coffee is grown conventionally, using chemicals such as benoyml, chlordane, cabrflurane, DDT, endulfan, paraquat,and zineb that have been banned in the U.S. for years.
• 1 pound of coffee = 4000 hand-picked beans (the beans from one coffee tree).
• The average coffee drinker will consumer the beans of 18 coffee trees each year.

If you’re shopping for treats to hand out this Halloween, you are likely to find a frightening assortment of artificial ingredients, plastic packaging, and sweatshop trinkets. How scary! Steer clear of these ghoulish wares and Green Your Halloween by giving out treats that don’t trick! Here are a few ideas:

• Fair Trade Chocolates: Chocolate is always a popular choice at Halloween. But according to the non-profit group Global Exchange, 40% of the world’s cocoa is produced in “abysmal working conditions” where children are exploited and used as laborers. Give out fair-trade chocolates instead. (Try Exquisite Swiss or Endangered Species Chocolates)
• Gummies: Fruitabu’s Organic Smooshed Fruit is made without any scary artificial ingredients. Individually-sized packs come in great seasonal flavors like Autumn Apple, Abundant Apricot, and Bountiful Blackberry.
• Lollipops: College Farm Organic offers an assortment of lollipops and hard candies made with all-natural ingredients. Even better, the candy bags and wrappers are fully-compostable leaving you with a no-waste treat!
• Popcorn: Hand out individually-wrapped bags of organic microwave popcorn. (Try Newman’s Own Organics)
• Raisins: Earthbound Farms organic raisins are available in individually sized boxes
• Snack Bars: Earth’s Best snack bars make the perfect bite-sized Halloween treat
• Soy Crayons
  
• Stickers
• Temporary Tattoos