Great Coffee, Good Vibes, Pass It On! Our lead sponsor for the Fair Trade Campaigns Conference is Green Mountain Coffee!

This Fair Trade Month, Green Mountain Coffee continues its creative and groundbreaking support of the Fair Trade movement. From Live Facebook Concerts to Consumer Sweepstakes to providing the key funding necessary to hold our 2nd National Conference, they are ensuring that advocates and consumers have more and more opportunity to drive the success of Fair Trade in the USA.

For more than a decade, Green Mountain Coffee has been a leader in the Fair Trade movement, converting more and more of their most popular coffees to Fair Trade and continually increasing their consumer messaging to focus on Fair Trade. This Fair Trade Month, Green Mountain Coffee has partnered with acclaimed musicians Grace Potter and Michael Franti in a big way with “Great Coffee, Good Vibes, Pass It On” – an awareness campaign that celebrates the good vibes of Fair Trade through free concerts and an opportunity to win a trip to Costa Rica, one of the many locations where Green Mountain Coffee’s Fair Trade Certified coffee is grown.

As part of the campaign, Green Mountain Coffee took Grace Potter to Colombia and Michael Franti to Sumatra to experience firsthand why fair trade means better coffee for you, and a better life for farmers.

“During my trip to Colombia, I didn’t just meet the coffee farmers, I met their children and their families,” said Potter, musician and spokesperson for Green Mountain Coffee. “Fair Trade has truly brought a better quality of life to farming communities, from access to education to community development, and meeting with these people really opened my eyes to the impact Fair Trade has had on their lives.”

Exclusive Fair Trade Performances

In their first concert held to celebrate Fair Trade Month, Grace Potter gave an exclusive live performance from famed music venue Joe’s Pub in New York City. Her set featured unique acoustic versions of songs from her new album, The Lion The Beast The Beat and was streamed live on the Green Mountain Coffee Facebook page on October 9.

On Wednesday, 10/24 at 11 p.m. EST/8 p.m. PST, fans are invited to RSVP for Michael Franti, who will rev up Los Angeles from the first-ever Great Coffee, Good Vibes Lounge. Fans will be able to visit 7111 Melrose Avenue and enjoy a free cup of Green Mountain Coffee Fair Trade Certified™ coffee. Sign up for the show at Facebook.com/GreenMountainCoffee and experience the good vibes firsthand

“The farmers I met in Sumatra deepened my passion for Fair Trade and the incredible impact it can have on their quality of life,” says Michael Franti, musician and spokesperson for Green Mountain Coffee. “I’m hoping to inspire people everywhere to think about the difference they can make just by choosing to purchase Fair Trade products.”

You can view photos and videos from Potter and Franti’s trips to Colombia and Sumatra, including exclusive music performances, by logging on to Facebook. After watching these videos, everyone has the chance to receive samples or coupons and enter for a chance to win a trip for two to Costa Rica. The six-night trip will include round trip airfare, a whitewater rafting tour, a canopy tour, a Mangrove boat tour, and additional opportunities to experience one of the countries where Green Mountain Coffee® Fair Trade Certified™ coffee is sourced.

GMCR, parent company of the Green Mountain Coffee® brand, became one of the first roasters in the United States to offer Fair Trade Certified™ coffees, in 2000. Recently, the company was confirmed for the second year in a row as the world’s largest purchaser of Fair Trade Certified™ coffee, among all coffee roasters, by Fair Trade USA for 2011.