Demand for fair trade goods is increasing, according to a new study sponsored by Alter Eco Fair Trade. In fact, awareness and demand have grown by such leaps and bounds that retailers are having a hard time supplying consumers with enough fair trade goods. More than 70 percent of participants in the study, which was conducted in collaboration with researchers from six U.S. universities, were familiar with the concept of fair trade and noted that lack of availability is one of the biggest hurdles for consumers when trying to purchase fair trade. The study also included the following statistics. more

Last Thursday evening, on a warm fall evening in Northern California’s Sonoma County, I was lucky enough to sit in the audience as Traditional Medicinals’ cofounder, Drake Sadler, announced that herbal-tea company had transitioned 75 percent of its energy usage to solar. To wit, there were the panels, black and shiny, soaking up the sun and fueling the factory, which turns out hundreds of herbal teas — most of them organic. more

Good news on the food scene: A new law called COOL (Country Of Origin Labeling) has just gone into effect — and not a moment too soon, especially given the recent scary and appalling news about melamine being added to foods in China (intentionally!!), including baby formula (apparently melamine makes a product look like it contains more protein). With COOL, we’ll all be able to see where everyday food comes from, including raw meat, wild and farmed fish, fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables, peanuts, pecans, macadamias, and whole ginseng (the goal was to label high-volume items, apparently). Of course, many fresh foods already had U.S.-grown labels (such as Vidalia onions and Florida grapefruit), so those won’t change; and of course, not all imports are bad. But it’s new power for the consumer to know what they’re buying and where it’s from, and to choose local whenever possible.

It couldn’t have been scripted better. Without any comments from me, my soft-spoken 21-year-old niece picked up one of Colorado farmer Steve Ela’s peaches, took a bite, and exclaimed, “This is the best peach I’ve ever had in my life!” And then, of course, I couldn’t resist launching into my speech about why it was so good, starting with “It’s organic.”

Those of us who eat organic know how wonderful it tastes. But a growing body of research is proving (what many of us already believe) that organic foods are in fact more nutritious than conventional foods. In a report released last March by the Organic Center, a Colorado-based organization that supports organic research, with co-authors from Washington State and Florida Universities, researchers analyzed 97 studies that compared the nutrient levels of organic versus conventional foods. The most comprehensive look at organics since 2003, the study concluded that organic foods are up to 25 percent more nutrient dense then their conventional counterparts, and that they are particularly rich in polyphenols and antioxidants.

Organic starts with farmers like Steve Ela who take a financial risk, because it takes three years to convert conventional farmlands into soils that qualify as USDA organic. When you buy national, regional, or local organic food you are voting with your dollars to help support these dedicated growers. For more reasons to go organic and a guide to buying organic, check out Delicious Living’s organic shopping guide. Or check out the Organic Center’s Organic Essentials pocket guide for reducing pesticide dietary exposure.

Farm Aid — the concert organized by rock legends Willie Nelson, Dave Matthews, Neil Young, and John Mellencamp — celebrated its 22nd anniversary in Boston this past weekend. Willie recently told NPR that Farm Aid would lend financial help to farming communities torn apart by Ike. Read our interview with John Mellencamp and Rolling Stone’s review of the concert.

Turns out the Hershey’s company is fudging the ingredients on some of their chocolate products, replacing cocoa butter with vegetable oil to save costs, says the Today show. This non-chocolate switcheroo means that their labels had to change, so some products now say “chocolatey” or “chocolate candy.” Kinda subtle and sneaky, if you ask me. Personally, if I’m gonna have chocolate — and I am — I’m going to eat the real stuff, both for unequalled taste and and chocolate’s associated benefits. One of my new favorites: Kopali Organics chocolate-covered cocoa nibs, goji berries, and bananas (how’s that for some high-powered snacks?). They taste killer, plus they’re all fair-trade, certified organic, and rainforest friendly. I know Whole Foods carries them, so try some today (or Kopali’s super-pure dried fruit — also awesome).

If you haven’t been to a Starbucks this week, I suggest you stop by. The company rolled out its first issue of The Good Sheet — a weekly fact sheet that highlights a different crisis — oops, sorry, I meant issue — facing our times. I found the premier “issue” on carbon emissions interesting, accessible, and informative. I know, I know, what am I doing in Starbucks? I’ll take the Fifth on that. But The Good Sheet really is worth checking out. Not sure I get the blog, though, I’m looking forward to the next installment of The Good Sheet on health care.

If you ever wonder — like I do — whether your daily fish-oil habit is contributing to the overfishing of certain species, this occasionally wonky article about where fish oil comes from is for you.

Easy ways to get more eco-friendly in the kitchen come up all the time–it’s mostly a matter of paying attention and not doing things the way I’ve always done them. My latest simple switch was getting rid of (or rather, not replacing) plastic cutlery. My teen daughter takes yogurt in her school lunch every day, and up to now has taken a plastic spoon; but when we ran out recently, I told her I wasn’t going to buy new ones. Instead, she could just take a regular spoon, throw it in her purse after lunch, and bring it home to wash. She put up a tiny objection, but then dropped it … and voila, no more plastic spoons. (In a real pinch there are also recycled and recyclable plastic utensils, such as those made by Recycline.)

Simple, huh? What other ideas do you have to reduce waste?

We’ve gotten so much great feedback on our June story “Running the Numbers” about Chris Jordan’s photographs — we’ve received dozens of letters from readers galvanized to help change the cycle of wastefulness in their communities. Check out this new post about Jordan on Ethicurean today.