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Warehouse retailer Sam’s Club converted its ground coffee to be Fair Trade Certified ™. The first nationally available, private-label Fair Trade Certified ground coffee developed to appeal to mainstream customers, Member’s Mark Premium Ground is expected to become a leader in national sales of Fair Trade Certified coffee.

Sam’s Club also announced that it joined coffee roaster Café Bom Dia and TransFair USA to offer a summer 2008 weeklong study grant opportunity for junior high and high school teachers interested in teaching about Fair Trade. Teachers entered a national essay contest and applied to win one of 10 expenses-paid trips to visit Fair Trade cooperatives, farms and communities in Brazil.

Fair Trade certification guarantees small-scale farmers a minimum price for their coffee, links farmers and suppliers directly and creates the conditions for long-term sustainability. To be certified by TransFair USA, the only independent, third-party certifier of Fair Trade Certified products in the United States, farmers must meet international standards on environmentally-sustainable practices, community investment and working conditions.