This August 10th is National S’mores Day! To celebrate, Alter-Eco is teaming up with Global Exchange, an activist human rights organization, to promote the use of Fair Trade chocolate. Why? Many cocoa farmers live in poverty and do not have access to education, health care and human working conditions. With the help of Alter-Eco, the El Ceibo cooperative in Bolivia has invested in equipment to process and transport their cocoa. By selling on Fair Trade terms, these farmers are able to invest in high-quality production, increase their incomes and improve their living standards. El Ceibo benefits 800 families in the Bolivian Amazon by helping the farmers achieve higher living standards and protect their environment through sustainable agriculture.

Global Exchange and Alter Eco have a goal: to inspire the consumption of 1,500 irresistibly delicious and undeniably ethical Fair Trade s’mores nationwide. Whether you choose to make s’mores at your barbeque, campfire, or home, indulge in Fair Trade s’mores this summer and beyond! Participants can register their s’mores and sign a petition that will be sent to Hershey’s asking them to implement Fair Trade practices on the Global Exchange website.

ALTER ECO CHOCOLATE

Fair Trade has never tasted so good! Alter Eco’s Fair Trade and Organic chocolates are available in several mouth-watering varieties such as Dark Chocolate Velvet, Dark Chocolate Mint, Dark Chocolate Twist, Dark Chocolate Cacao (73% cacao with crunchy cacao nibs), Dark Chocolate Blackout (85% cacao) and Dark Chocolate Almond. Alter-Eco’s Organic Dark Almond Chocolate is made with sun-dried and slow-roasted almonds for a deliciously crunchy taste, the Dark Chocolate Twist is made with delicately prepared with crystallized orange for a zesty and unique flavor and the Dark Chocolate Velvet is made from the finest cocoa and a touch of organic milk to round-off the flavor and make it supremely smooth.

Alter Eco sources ingredients for their chocolate from marginalized farming cooperatives in the global south, harvested by the members of the El Ceibo cooperative located in the heart of the Bolivian Amazon who use sustainable farming methods that preserve the local agricultural biodiversity. The chocolate bars are then crafted with passion by a master chocolatier in Switzerland from all natural, organic and Fair Trade ingredients – free from artificial flavors, chemical additives and emulsifiers. Alter Eco’s chocolate can be purchased at Whole Food’s nationwide, for a complete listing of retailers near you, please visit Alter Eco on the web at: www.altereco-usa.com

ABOUT ALTER ECO

Alter-Eco is a San Francisco-based gourmet food company that features a variety of delicious Fair Trade Certified products including gourmet dark chocolate, authentic jasmine rice, 100% Carbon Neutral extra virgin olive oils, sugar and quinoa. A team of fair trade visionaries and food-loving explorers on a mission to connect you to farmers and their honest foods, the Alter Eco brand reflects diversity in the faces, shapes, colors, landscapes, traditions, and cultures of the small farmers who cultivate them. Each product has a unique story and an authentic fragrance that will take gourmet enthusiasts on a journey of discovery from the kitchen, to the Himalayas, Palestine, Bolivia, Switzerland, and beyond.

Giveaway Details

Alter Eco will be giving away 3 delectable chocolate bars this month to honor National S’mores Day, and to encourage you to support Fair Trade chocolate! The three enticing flavors include: Alter Eco’s Dark Mint Chocolate, Dark Velvet Chocolate, and Dark Almond Chocolate. We’ll have 3 winners, one bar each.

Prize Descriptions:

Alter-Eco’s Dark Mint Chocolate is bittersweet and refreshingly intense. This chocolate is a real treat for your taste buds—and for the cocoa farmers too! To make the chocolate, Alter-Eco uses the finest ingredients—grown and selected by farming partners in Bolivia and Paraguay through sustainable farming methods that preserve the local agricultural biodiversity —which are then crafted with passion by a master chocolatier in Switzerland. The chocolate is both Fair Trade Certified and USDA certified organic and contains a minimum of 61% of cocoa.

Alter-Eco’s Organic Dark Velvet Chocolate is Fair Trade Certified and 100% natural – no chemical additives, artificial flavors or emulsifiers were used in its production. It is made from the finest cocoa and a touch of milk is added to round-off the flavor of this dark chocolate and make it supremely smooth. The cocoa in this chocolate was grown and harvested by members of the El Ceibo cooperative located in the heart of the Bolivian Amazon. By purchasing this chocolate, it directly helps 800 small-scale farmers achieve higher living standards and protect their environment through sustainable agriculture.

Alter-Eco’s Organic Dark Almond Chocolate is 100% natural and contains no artificial flavors or sweeteners. The chocolate is also Fair Trade certified, contains a minimum of 58% cocoa, and made with sun-dried and slow-roasted almonds for a deliciously crunchy taste. Alter-Eco uses small-scale farmers of the El Ceibo cooperative who cultivate cocoa crops using traditional farming techniques that produce the finest organic cocoa. The very best cocoa beans are selected and combined with organic unrefined cane sugar to make this deliciously rich bittersweet dark chocolate.

This giveaway is open to US residents only.

How to enter (required): Visit  www.altereco-usa.com  and then come back and leave a comment telling us the name of your favorite product!

For additional entries (leave a new comment for each additional entry):
- one additional entry if you become our fan on FACEBOOK;
- one additional entry if you grab our button from the sidebar and post it on your blog, please post the link;
- one additional entry if you follow us on Twitter;
- one additional entry if you send a tweet about this giveaway (once a day only); make sure to include @1happyblogger. You may use the following to tweet: @1happyblogger For a chance to win a chocolate bar, go to http://www.100cafestreet.com/national-s’mores-day-chocolate-giveaway 
- one additional entry if you fave us in Technorati;
- one additional entry if you blog about this Giveaway with a link back to 100CafeStreet.com and AlterEco-usa.com
- one additional entry if you follow 100CafeStreet.com via email.

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The giveaway ends on August 10, 2009 at the end of day, Pacific Standard Time. Alter Eco will ship the prizes.

*Please make sure you leave a comment for each additional entry so you get credited.
*Also, please make sure you typed in the correct email address.
*The winner will be announced via e-mail and has 2 days to get back to us or other name will be chosen.
*Incomplete entries will be disqualified & deleted.

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RESULTS: Thank you all for participating! It’s been really fun reading your messages. Unfortunately, only 3 people win. Here they are:

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

23
77
218

Timestamp: 2009-08-11 18:58:25 UTC

Congratulations, Megan B., Sharon McCloud and alka! You have 2 days to respond to our e-mail or other name will be chosen. Thank you!!

We featured Alter Eco in our Chocolate Manufacturers – Guide for Chocoholics.

photo courtesy of Alter Eco

Alter Eco offers consumers everywhere a tasty opportunity to help provide farmers and communities in the global south with fair wages, direct trade and funding for community development, scholarships, women’s empowerment programs and more with a full line of Fair Trade Certified™ gourmet chocolate bars. The chocolate is crafted with passion by a master chocolatier in Switzerland and blended to perfection.

Alter Eco’s Fair Trade Certified chocolate bars are available in a variety of tantalizing flavors including:
• Dark Chocolate Velvet (hint of organic milk)
• Dark Chocolate Mint, Dark Chocolate Twist (with crystallized orange peel)
• Milk Chocolate Moka, Dark Chocolate Almond
• Milk Chocolate with Hazelnut
• Milk Chocolate Cajou (with raisins and cashews for a tender and crunchy texture).

Through small farmers’ dedication to safeguarding their cultural heritage and preserving their environment, the difference in Alter Eco’s Organic and Fair Trade Certified products can be tasted in its freshness and purity. By selling on Fair Trade terms, the farmers are able to invest in high-quality production, increase their incomes and improve their living standards. Alter Eco believes in providing consumers with delicious products that they need and love with an ethical integrity. Alter Eco has even gone as far as becoming Carbon Zero Certified by taking responsibility for their carbon emissions by replanting the rainforest!

The Alter Eco range of Fair Trade products are of the highest quality, ensured by the care small farmers give to their land. Each product is cultivated using sustainable farming methods that preserve the local agricultural biodiversity including natural fertilizers are used both for economic reasons as well as a way to ensure good health for the farmers and they land they work on. The Alter Eco brand reflects diversity in the faces, shapes, colors, landscapes, traditions and cultures of the small farmers who cultivate them.

Each product has a unique story and an authentic fragrance that will take gourmet enthusiasts on a journey of discovery from the kitchen to the foothills of the Himalayas and beyond. Experience the decadent flavors of Alter Eco knowing that Alter Eco’s Fair Trade products are good for health, people, and the planet! For more information please visit their website.

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Remember to always read the Store Policies before placing your order.