Green Mountain Coffee and Keurig Review and Giveaway

My husband and I are huge coffee drinkers.  I’m not quite sure how people, especially mom’s of young children, are able to function without it.  But what I am even a bigger fan of is when an item or product that I love and consume daily is socially and environmentally conscious. 

If I am going to be spending my family’s hard earned money on a product we use daily, I want to know that I am buying a product that is focused on creating positive change in our world.  Now this is not always possible or necessarily affordable, but it is definitely possible with coffee.

Green Mountain Coffee is Certified Fair Trade and is committed promoting positive change around the world.  Certified Fair Trade is defined as an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries make better trading conditions and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a higher price to producers as well as higher social and environmental standards.

As a company, Green Mountain has worked hard to support communities around the world by increasing their health and economic well-being.  To qualify for Fair Trade certification, farmers must belong to an organized co-op. Farmers are able to adhere to the highest business and growing practices because they are paid a fair price for their coffee beans.  Often farmers are forced to use cost-cutting practices when they do NOT receive a fair price for their beans, thus impacting the quality of the coffee as well as causing a harmful effect on our environment. So, not only does Fair Trade promote a better quality of life for the farmers, but it means better quality coffee overall.  I believe all business owners have decisions to be made in regards to where they do their business in such things as harvesting, purchasing, sourcing as well as where they produce their ultimate end product.  But overall Certified Fair Trade benefits everyone.  

Green Mountain has chosen to take a different approach than the majority of US corporations.  Though it may not be the best for their financial statements in regards to profits, they believe it is what is the most socially and environmentally responsible road for their business.  The company is focused on helping under privileged countries develop a vibrant work place and a sustained economic climate while reducing waste and being environmentally responsible.

Green Mountain believes that “what is good for the world is good for business”.  And who couldn’t agree with that statement?  I feel good about purchasing a product that is produced by a company with such high moral and social standards.

Now, let’s be honest, if it wasn’t a good product, then I wouldn’t be buying. But……….Green Mountain coffee is great and the quality is top-notch!  They have a huge selection of all different types of coffee from the light blends to the bold.  You can check out some of their offerings HERE on their website.  I love fall and I think the pumpkin spice coffee might be next on my list.

And I’m not saying Green Mountain is delicious without actually having tried it.  I recently received a Keurig coffee machine and a large selection of Green Mountain brand coffees.  And guess what?  Today we are giving away a Keurig machine and a variety of Green Mountain Coffee to one very lucky The Cottage Home blog reader.  You are going to love this machine and you are going to love the coffee that is coming with it!

So if you would like to support an environmentally and socially responsible company like Green Mountain Coffee, please enter our giveaway for a Keurig machine and a selection of Green Mountain “K-Cups” to use in their new coffee machine.

What do you take in your coffee?  Cream? Sugar? Both?

Do you go out of your way to buy environmentally friendly products?

 

Please read the official rules of entry below:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry
methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment
on this post

c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on
this post

d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about
an alternate form of entry. 

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older

Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail.

You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be
selected.

The Official Rules are available here. 

Giveaway will be open from September 8, 2011 through September 24, 2011.

You can also visit the Green Mountain Facebook page to learn more about the product line as well as Green Mountain's Fair Trade certification and to receive free samples!

If you would like to read what other blogger's are saying about Green Mountain Coffee and have more chances to enter to win, please visit the BlogHer.com Promotions and Prize page HERE.

OnStar FMV Mirror: Product Review

Have you heard of OnStar?  Well, if you have then you may only be familiar with it as being a product on GM vehicles and if not, you've got to check it out. OnStar recently came out with a product that can be installed on a wide range of vehicles (does not need to be GM) that will provide the OnStar service.  The product is an after-market OnStar rear-view mirror that is installed in place of the regular rear-view mirror that comes standard on most vehicles. The mirror contains all of the OnStar technology needed to activate and enable all the services they provide.

I was recently sent the new OnStar FMV mirror to try out on our Toyota Sienna mini-van and I have to admit that it is pretty darn cool!  I had my mirror installed at a local car place in the area that was a certified professional in the installation of these mirrors.  The installation and set-up took a total of about 2 hours.  I was really impressed by the customer service I received from the OnStar folks.  It just so happened that the Director of Sales lives in my area, so because this was one of the first installs of this new product, he personally came by to make sure everything was installed properly and activated correctly.

Once the OnStar mirror was installed into our mini-van, I could start using it as soon as I needed it.  With OnStar there are several different services that are provided.  My favorite one is probably the automatic crash response (ACR) option.  I like knowing that if I end up in a car accident with my children and am not able to dial 911, that OnStar will send help our way.  There is a button for you to push on the mirror to call for emergency assistance, but if you are in such a severe crash that you cannot reach the button or even speak, OnStar can recognize that there is an issue and send help immediately.  This feature is covered by ACR.  The emergency services button gives you a priority connection to an Advisor who can direct emergency service providers to your exact location. You could essentially call for emergencies inside and outside of the vehicle.

Secondly, by having this mirror, you get roadside assistance.  So it's essentially like having AAA, but even better.  OnStar can send someone to unlock your vehicle (should you lock yourself out), change a flat tire or should you run out of gas, they can bring you enough gas to help you get to a nearby gas station.  Pretty neat if you ask me!

My husband and I recently went out for dinner and decided to give the turn-by-turn navigation a try.  Now our car does have built in navigation, but sometimes when we try to use it, it won't recognize our destination (especially if it's a brand-new place).  So I find having the OnStar folks at the touch of a button very handy in these sorts of situations.

My husband and I pressed the "blue" button on our mirror and were instantly connected to a real live person.  He greeted us and then ask us what we needed.  We told him the address of where we were headed and he programed the turn-by-turn directions to be sent to our car.  Several times we veered off the path and the navigation asked us if we needed to update our route or cancel and this was all controlled through our voice commands.  I can see this being a really handy feature if you were on a road-trip in an unfamiliar location and needed help with directions as well.

And finally, another feature is the hands-free calling and blue tooth compatibility.  Personally I try not to chat too often while driving, but if you had a need to do so, this feature would allow you to do that while keeping both hands on the wheel.

Being the mom of two (almost three) young children, I find this product to be invaluable.  I think this would also make a fabulous gift for a new teen driver, an elderly person, a new mom or anyone that may need the added security of roadside assistance, direction assistance or emergency assistance.  The mirror is purchased and then a yearly/monthly fee is paid to keep the service active.

It's been a pleasure to have the opportunity to test out this new product and I think you will really like it too!  To learn more, Visit the official Facebook page or check out the product at your local Best Buy location.  Also you can check out the other blogger's reviews of this wonderful new product through the BlogHer website by visiting the Promotions & Prizes section.