a cuppa for a cause - david riosite.davidrio.com/pressreleases/teamagazinemarchaprilp32.pdfa cuppa...

tea magazine • www.teamag.com32 march/april 2014

A Cuppa For a CauseCompiled By Lisa Lombardo

tea magazine • www.teamag.commarch/april 2014 33

A Cuppa For a Cause S ustainable uses. Fair Trade. Environmental preservation. An-

imal rights protection. Education. Public welfare. Economic

global aid. Clean air and water. When you indulge in your

favorite tea, chances are you are helping support one of these causes.

When it comes to philanthropic endeavors, tea companies do more

than just donate. We found a plethora of tea enterprises that reach

out to causes both near and far. They support their local commu-

nities and keep a global lookout as well. They are dedicated to the

workers who produce the tastes you love, and to keeping their en-

vironmental footprint to a minimum. They love your support, but it’s

not all about pro�ts! The tea companies we pro�led, both seasoned

veterans and newbies to the trade, all make a point to boast about

their links to charities, organizations and movements that give them a

bigger mission.

So sip and give back! These companies make it easy.

lost its funding and this sup-port abruptly stopped. People needed sustainable economic opportunities to empower themselves. Sara and her mother Ann decided to launch Ajiri Tea. Sara’s sister Kate traveled to Kenya to scout out the feasibility of a tea compa-ny that would directly benefit the local women, farmers, and orphans. They chose the Nyansiongo Tea Factory to supply the tea. The company’s vision and mission is rooted in the opinions, passions, and skills of people living in the Kisii community. In addition to employing local women, there was the need to pay school fees for the growing number of orphans.

Arbor Teasarborteas.com

Specialty: Organic Teas Mission: Environment; Sustainability; Compostable PackagingThe Scoop: Arbor Teas’ mission is to find the world’s most fantastic organic teas and deliver them as sustain-ably as possible. From their exceptional collection of organic and Fair Trade Cer-tified® teas to their Carbon-free® business practices to their backyard compostable packaging, their passion is steeped in a desire to do worldly good and to remain organic to a tea.

Ajiri Teaajiritea.com

Specialty: Black TeasMission: Economic aid in Kenya; HIV/AIDS TreatmentThe Scoop: After graduat-ing from Bowdoin College in May 2008, Sara Holby headed to Kisii, in western Kenya, to volunteer for a health-related non-governmental organiza-tion (NGO). Sara came to love the community: the people, its bustling streets and markets, and the rural areas outside of town where many HIV/AIDS patients live. The NGO provided free medication and food to the patients, but in January 2009 the organization


Charbrewcharbrew.com

Specialty: Fresh Full Tasting TeasMission: Environmental ConcernsThe Scoop: Charbrew is a English business based in the quaint village of Thelwall, Cheshire. Adam Soliman created Charbrew in 2009 at the tender age of 21. After discovering tea plantations in the Far East and Asia as well as researching fruit and herbal infusions in the European market, Adam realized that tea companies were not pushing the boundaries when it came to making that special brew.

Charbrew believes in minimizing the company’s impact on the world as well as promoting sustainability, taking steps to reduce the impact on the planet. Their innovative pyramid teabag design is 100% biodegradable.

Their pyramids allow for the infusion of the whole leaves, herbs, fruits, and spices that can be found in their blends. Charbrew works closely with accredited suppliers who hold environmental concerns as well as sustainability at the top of their agenda.

DAVIDsTEAdavidstea.com

Specialty: Special Collec-tions; Fair Trade TeasMission: Fair Trade PracticesThe Scoop: David Segal was a 28-year-old tea loving entre-preneur. His cousin Herschel Segal was a Canadian retail pioneer. What did they have in common? A vision: great tea, a friendly environment and a colorful, modern store. With David’s energy and enthusiasm and Herschel’s know-how, it was the perfect balance of youth and experi-

ence. Their first store opened in 2008 on Queen Street in Toronto, Canada. Before long, first time customers became regulars, neighbors became friends and the store became a community fixture. The company boasts an entire line of Fair Trade USA-certified collection of teas.

Global Teasglobalteas.org

Specialty: Organic teasMission: Poverty and Human Rights CausesThe Scoop: Global Teas combines a passion for good tea with a passion for helping change people’s lives. When she was 15 years old, owner and founder Dezerai Seitzer participated in her first over-seas volunteer trip. Raised in a small, affluent town, she made a commitment to help people on whatever level she could. Thus, Global Teas was born to support the organiza-tions with whom she had vol-unteered; $1 of every Global Teas retail pouch is donated to one of three non-profit organizations and $3 from every case of individually wrapped single-service teas is also donated.

Seitzer traveled overseas to volunteer and chose three non-profit recipients with whom she worked first-hand. These 3 organizations are freeing children from sexual slavery, fighting for the re-moval of UXOs in Laos, and sending medical supplies and setting up medical clinics all over the world.

Blue Lotus Chai bluelotuschai.com

Specialty: Authentic Spiced Traditional Masala ChaiMission: 10% of net profits to charitable organizationsThe Scoop: Blue Lotus Chai was determined to create a product that would satisfy the tastes of the most ardent chai lover, be easy and quick to prepare, and a clean, pure product. They wanted to make it economically available to everyone and versatile enough to meet a limitless variety of dietary needs. Blue Lotus Chai Company’s commitment to serving the greater good has inspired them to donate 10% of net profits to charitable or-ganizations, including Doctors Without Borders, Greenhill Humane Society, Kiva, Shan-tipuri Friends Foundation, Self-Realization Fellowship and the Yogoda Satsanga Soci-ety of India (YSS).

Bhakti Chai


bhaktichai.comSPECIALTY: Fair Trade Certified Black TeaMISSION: Support for Global Organizations for Women and Girls

Bhakti Chai founder and CEO Brook Eddy vis-ited India in 2002 to learn more about a move-ment based on “bhakti” (devotion through social action). While there, she recognized a need to pro-mote education and economic empowerment for women and young girls in the region. Upon her return to the states, Eddy combined her passion for social action with her love of the spicy Indian chai she’d fallen in love with on her travels into a successful tea enterprise.

Through Eddy’s efforts, and in keeping with the philosophy of “bhakti”, the company has infused charitable work into their business plan from the very beginning. Bhakti Chai allocates a percentage of annual revenue to organizations that work to empower women and girls, including Global Grass Roots, Girls Education International, and Urgent Action Fund.

We spoke with Eddy to discuss what drives their mission—and how they encourage others to follow their lead.

TM: Most tea companies focus on supporting environmen-tal causes. Your social focus is a bit different-empowering women and girls on a global scale through human rights, education, employment and more. How did this cause moti-vate you to launching Bhakti Chai?

Eddy: My background is in social policies—not really brew-ing or selling tea! I learned about chai in India while studying bhakti, which is a belief based on social action. I wanted to start the company to bring something fresh and healthy to people, but also have it mission-driven.

Empowerment is the best resource someone can be offered, to be able to help create generations of successful women through education and reinvestment in their communities. I was aware of UN research that was done on world-backing for investments such as our cause. As a [female] entrepreneur and a single mom with no money, I wanted to help women in other countries accomplish it.

We really had no money to start a giving program; our com-pany started small, but now I can encourage other companies to do what we are doing! Companies can give slowly, say even $100 a month, then progress. We integrated our contributions into our operating budget, and now we can say, “Wow, we made a real impact on these organizations for women and girls”.

TM: What’s lacking for support to aid women and children in countries that don’t have good track records on human rights?

Eddy: Women and girls’ programs are often just not funded. Most organizations are formed to aid funding the education for boys. There are issues with human rights, sex trafficking and abuse, but it’s also economic. Our cause helps girls to get

an education, which makes them more likely to educate their daughters to in stay in school, and possibly even start their own little busi-

nesses. Education teaches them to be healthy, use birth

control and have children later in life—that has such a huge effect

on this population.

TM: Talk about the Living Your Bhakti Grant.Brook: We partnered with the Off the Mat Into the World or-

ganization, whose mission is [incorporating] the ideals of yoga into the world to help with social change. They train their lead-ers to start non-profits based on their “bhakti” (their personal devotion). We just recently provided our first grant and we plan to do one every year. The amount of money might not seem a lot—$2,500—but for a non-profit it can be just enough to launch an initial business and find partners to work with.

This year our grantee was World Muse, (http://theworldmuse.org/), a social change movement inspired by and for women and girls. Their mission is to connect women to their own per-sonal source of inspiration and help cultivate the necessary re-sources, tools, and networks to turn that inspiration into activa-tion. We also regularly support the Global Fund for Women and the Global Education Fund.

For us, the main thing is that our mission was truly authentic from the beginning and not an afterthought! Bhakti Chai was built on these ideals; we just didn’t decide five years in to start doing this. Bhakti means devotion through social action, and we feel we’re not just talking the talk, we are living it.

TM: What nonprofit or social movements does Bhatki Chai support?

Brook: I particularly reso-nate with any movement that works to empower and educate women and girls including non-profits such as: Urgent Action Fund (urgentactionfund.org); Global Fund for Women (www.globalfundforwomen.org); The White House Project (blog.the-whitehouseproject.org); The Girl Effect (www.girleffect.org), and World Pulse (worldpulse.com), a global network dedicated to bringing the voices, stories, struggles, and triumphs of wom-en and girls around the world to the media.

-ited India in 2002 to learn more about a move-ment based on “bhakti” (devotion through social action). While there, she recognized a need to pro-mote education and economic empowerment for women and young girls in the region. Upon her return to the states, Eddy combined her passion for social action with her love of

in life—that has such a huge effect on this population.

TM: Talk about the Living Your Bhakti Grant.

DEVOTION THROU

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SOCIAL ACTION

Bhakti Chai founder’s

mission: ‘Passion is in

social movement.’


www.davidrio.comSPECIALTY: Premium Chai ProductsMISSION: Animal Rights

In May 1996, David Rio created a line of special-ty tea, coffee and accessories through an all-Jap-anese language catalog in Japan. They began by selling Elephant Vanilla Chai in Japan only, but domestic demand from both individuals and wholesalers led to offering David Rio chai in the U.S. as well. Wanting to create an additional chai with a strong presence of spices, David Rio devel-oped a second flavor, Tiger Spice Chai®.

Their dedication to protecting endangered species led to their support for The International Fund for Animal Welfare’s (IFAW) tiger campaign. The group aims to protect ti-gers in the wild, working on the front lines to combat poaching, end all trade in tiger body parts and products, secure vital hab-itats, and raise awareness about tigers and the threats they face.

A percentage of the profits from each sale of any size David Rio Tiger Spice Chai® are also donated to their initiatives. Every year, a portion of each donation is allocated to help stop the illegal ivory trade. We spoke with the founders of David Rio about their passion for animal preservation.

TM: What is the basis of the name David Rio Chai?David Rio: David Rio is a family owned business founded

in 1996 by the husband-and-wife team, Scott (David) Lowe and Rio Miura. The company originally began as a line of specialty tea, coffee and accessories through an all-Japanese language catalog in Japan and through popular demand, transformed into a premier chai brand now available in cafes, restaurants, and specialty food stores across the U.S and around the world.

TM: How did you initially become connected to the cause of endanger-ment of tigers?

David Rio: Scott and Rio have always embodied a global vision for David Rio and their original mission was inspired by a desire to make a difference. They feel strongly about a cause-driven busi-ness model that contributes locally and globally. They also share a deep love of animals and choose to partner with or-ganizations whose efforts are focused on securing and maintaining safe habi-tats for endangered animals around the world.

TM: How do donations to your cause directly help stop poaching and

trade and work to secure tigers’ vital habitats?

David Rio: IFAW, the In-ternational Fund for Animal Welfare, works directly on the ground, protecting and saving individual animals, animal populations, and hab-

itats all over the world. They have projects in more than 40

countries and provide hands-on assistance to animals in need.In 2011, our donations helped

IFAW alert Chinese authorities to the illegal trade of tiger bone wine at an auction

house in Beijing, prompting the Chinese government to stop the sale. Additionally, on July 11, 2013, the U.S. Fish and Wild-life Service (USFWS) announced the results of “Operation Wild Web”—a coordinated undercover law enforcement operation, which sought to bring illegal wildlife traffickers to justice. IFAW worked alongside the Federal agents to find these criminals. After just 14 days of tracking, “Operation Wild Web” netted 154 “buy/busts”—30 involving Federal wildlife crimes and 124 for violations of State wildlife laws. Officials seized the pelts of en-dangered big cats such as Sumatran tiger, leopard, and jaguar, as well as elephant ivory.

On October 4, 2013, David Rio also participated in the Ele-phant March in San Francisco, part of a world-wide initiative

to raise awareness about the illegal ivory trade.

TM: David Rio also helps local caus-es, such as Cat Tales Zoological Park in San Francisco. How has this helped you make a mark in your community?

David Rio: In 1999, we adopted a rescued Bengal Tiger named Thor, who lives at the Cat Tales Zoological Park in Mead, Washington to commemorate our signature product, Tiger Spice Chai®. Over the years, we have continued to support this beautiful 14 1/2 year old furry friend with his development and progress. In addition, David Rio has supported local organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area, including the SPCA and the Peninsula Humane Society, where we volunteer or sponsor events, such as the Mutt Strutt, an annual fund-raiser to support homeless animals at the facility.

PRESERVATION DEDICATIONBehind a passion for �avored chai, David Rio Chai

extends a hand (paw?) for endangered wildlife.

David Rio Chai San Francisco


Harney & Sonsharney.com

Specialty: Fine Crafted Tea BlendsMission: Environmental Awareness: 1% For the PlanetThe Scoop: Harney & Sons Tea Company sells fine teas at a price that makes tea an everyday luxury. Their tea is sipped around the world in homes, hotels, restaurants, cafes and on cruise ships. The process of shipping tea from the world’s tea gardens to Harney & Sons’ production facility for blending, bagging and packing, then on to the world’s teacups, impacts an in-creasingly fragile environment.

Joining 1% for The Planet meant that Harney & Sons could directly donate 1% of its total sales to the envi-ronmental organizations of their choice. They also pay annual membership dues to 1% For The Planet to help this organization defray overhead costs. Visit www.onepercent-fortheplanet.org for more information.

Mahamosamahamosa.com

Specialty: Gourmet Teas, Spices and HerbsMission: Being in the WorldThe Scoop: Being in the World™ is Mahamosa’s char-itable brand and an expres-

sion of their business model and philosophy. They chose the phrase “Being in the World” because it describes not only their individual be-ing but also their inseparable, connection and continuity with the world. Their causes range from fighting hunger and poverty, supporting education, promoting clean water and environments and supporting animals and natu-ral habitats. Their business is an experiment in socially and environmentally responsible capitalism. They believe con-sumers inform their purchas-ing decisions not only by cost but also a true concern for the world around them.

Under the Being in the

World™ brand, Mahamosa directly contributes to char-itable causes and organizes community service events, programs and projects. Under the brand, they also sell clothing and provide, prepare and serve food and beverag-es, such as teas, herbs and spices, among other products and services.

Red Rose Tearedrosetea.com

Specialty: High-Quality Tea VarietiesMission: Environmental Habitat PreservationThe Scoop: Red Rose Tea has partnered with the In-

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ternational Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) to help support the goal of preserving the environmental habitats in countries where Red Rose Tea has sourced its teas for generations. In addition to a monetary donation, Red Rose Tea is supporting IFAW by bring-ing awareness to the organization and its mission with special-edition carton artwork on Red Rose Original Tea, Red Rose Decaffeinated Tea and Red Rose Specialty Selections tea boxes, each of which includes an insert directing people to donate to IFAW.

Founded in 1969, IFAW saves in-dividual animals, animal populations and habitats throughout the world, including countries such as Kenya, Ma-lawi, Sri Lanka and India, where Red Rose Tea has sourced its tea leaves from carefully selected tea estates for more than 100 years. Preservation of these particular tea-growing regions is essential to make sure that Red Rose can continue to deliver the superior blend of tea that their fans have come to love.

Steep City Teassteepcityteas.com

Specialty: Teas with Health BenefitsMission: Urban Harmony in a CupThe Scoop: Steep City Teas was es-tablished in October 2012 by Gabriela and David Palmerola. The couple found their passion for tea in Mexico City while visiting for work. Gabriela convinced David, an avid coffee drink-er, to visit popular tea bars and sample “good” tea.

Steep City Teas is proud to be a local Miami business. Their goal is to be actively involved in the community by participating in local events, festi-vals, local markets and any other local gathering. They believe it is important to give back to the community and are committed to donating a portion of all

revenues to City Year Miami. Steep City keeps its environmental

footprint in focus. As an environmen-tally conscious business they try to minimize their impact on the world by buying used boxes when available and recycling newspapers from offices for shipping supplies.

SerendipiTeaserendipitea.com

Speciality: High quality loose leaf teasMission: Fighting hunger and povertyThe Scoop: Based in Manhassett, NY, SerendipiTea is committed to working closely with tea gardens, estates and specialists around the world, maintain-ing knowledge and expertise regard-ing all facets of tea and production. They are proud to be environmentally responsible, utilizing organic farms and all-natural products. SerendipiTea is also socially responsible, supporting a number of non-profits that work their power around their community of New York and the world at large.

Serving New York City for more than 30 years, City Harvest is the world’s first food rescue organization, dedicated to feeding the city’s hungry men, women and children. Just Food is a non-profit organization that connects communities and local farms with the resources and support they need to make fresh, locally grown food acces-sible to all New Yorkers. Kiva—Loans that Change Lives, is a non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through loans for the sake of alleviating global poverty.

Green America is a not-for-profit membership organization founded in 1982 to harness economic power to create a socially just and environmen-tally sustainable society. SerendipiTea is also a proud member of the Green Business Network.


numitea.comSPECIALTY: Organically Grown TeasMISSION: The Numi Foundation

Created by founders and siblings Reem and Ahmed Rahim, the Numi Foun-dation’s mission is to foster thriving com-munities by supporting initiatives that nurture art, education, health and natural environment.

“Numi is more than just a tea company. We are an organization that delivers goodness through collaborations with our community,” states Ahmed Rahim, Co-Founder, CEO, and Chief Alchemist. We talked with Ahmed and his sister Reem, Numi’s Chief Brand Officer, about Numi’s goals and outreach.

TM: Talk about your mission: People, Planet, Profitability and Purpose. How did you develop this business ethic?

Ahmed: Our company started organically 14 years ago, and our goal then was to keep resources manageable to what we needed at that time. We have evolved, and as our focus grew more refined and our team grew, we turned more attention to our products, committing to staying organic. We took time working with farmers in their lands of origin to make sure we were converting the land and working with farmers to plan ahead. China and India have different standards, and so we are still working with the farmers to elevate standards. Through our own trade programs and fair labor practices and working with Fair Trade USA, we’ve worked to elevate farmers’ well-being. It’s been an evolution for us with the Numi Foundation, and we aim to continue to grow organically.

Reem: We see our values of the company as an extension of ourselves and what we care about—being fair to workers and retaining resources so the earth isn’t polluted. We are doing what we believe in while still being profitable.

TM: How do you link your company’s work with ACTION Oakland with other stakeholders in the community?

Ahmed: We started Numi in Oakland—in an apartment! We now have a real presence. They know us; we distribute our products in more than 30 countries, but we opted to stay in Oakland. We’ve helped pull both for-profit and non-profit [busi-nesses] together to help Oakland be a more thriving place. You can’t run a business that focuses on the outside world and ig-nore what goes on in your own backyard.

ACTION Oakland (A Creative Transformation In Our Neigh-borhoods) brings together citizens, community organizations, businesses and civic leaders to benefit Oakland. The goal is to nourish and cultivate long-term, cross sector partnerships that achieve mutual goals and generate value for the community. This will be accomplished through 12 sectors including justice, education, health, art, technology, mobility, local economy, and collaborating in monthly O’Day and volunteer work events.

TM: Discuss your recently introduced Fair Labor Practices Program.

Ahmed: Our Fair Labor Practices Program is a proprietary verifica-tion program with is a continuous

improvement model that focuses on the labor and workplace conditions

throughout Numi’s entire supply chain. Fair Trade USA is the lead certifier of la-

bor practices in the tea industry. We went to an organization called SCS Global Services, a

verification standards organization, six years ago. We want-ed something more connected to our needs with farmers. We asked them if we could create new certification standards, and after many years of working together they allowed us to man-age the verification.

Our goal is to expand the FLP program to other organizations that are looking for a way to expand their social certification programs, build an intimate relationship with their suppliers, and have a meaningful impact with their supply chain.

TM: What other efforts are you planning for Numi Tea?Ahmed: A group we started 18 months ago is OSC2—One

Step Closer to an Organic Sustainable Community—for other owners and friends who run great sustainable businesses. We created a forum for us to work together and share resources, create coalitions, and get the attention of the biggest producers of packing materials. We also want to foster younger companies through a partnership, offering support to those who want to start up but need mentorship and funding. The OSC2 members can help these companies with funding so they can follow sus-tainable practices.

Reem: Our team makes it all happen! Our staffers are fully committed and that really fortifies our company to fully em-brace our goals.

WHAT ‘COMMUNITY’ MEANSNumi Tea’s sustainable practices and outreach

efforts touch areas both abroad and at home.

Numi Tea


www.ktizotea.comSPECIALTY: Teas and Blends for Cultural ConnectionsMISSION: International Human Rights

‘Ktizo’ is a Greek word that literally means new creation or new formation. One company has adopted this idea into their philoso-phy with regard to tea blending, com-bining it with a desire to bridge cultural gaps through the education and awareness of various cultures and communities.

K’Tizo Tea works to raise awareness and to work with those who are bringing relief and hope to the millions of pe ople enslaved in deplorable work conditions and caught in the web of human trafficking around the world.

The company’s main philanthropic efforts support the International Justice Mission (www.ijm.org), a human rights agency that has been bringing rescue to victims of slavery, sexual exploitation and other forms of violent oppression for the past 15 years.

Founder Judy Duncan said she sees the variety of teas and tisanes as “connecting beverages” and desire to connect people to cultures and communities, bringing dimension and awakening souls to life. Tea Magazine talked with Judy about K’Tizo’s mission and passion.

TM: Talk a bit about how you started K’Tizo Tea.Duncan: I had been living in the DuPage area near Chicago

and had completed my master’s in intercul-tural studies. Because I grew up in Chicago, I wanted to bring the rich diversity of the city to my suburban community through an event-oriented cultural arts café. We would bring in art from different cultures and pres-ent them with the beverages of the culture.

That is my long-range vision. Because of that concept, I became more interested in teas,

since tea is connected deeply to many cultures. I developed a tea line that would feature a lot of

blends. I do love and appreciate our pure teas because I am a certified tea specialist, but something great happens with blending—just as with cultures in our communities. So it is when we bring cultures together there is our individual distinctiveness with a unique blend that results as we enfold some parts of each other’s culture. It’s maybe a little philo-sophical, but it is the basis of why we started.

TM: How did you get involved with International Justice Mission?

Duncan: I went to IJM when we started because we had a desire for the business to give back, and felt like IJM was the way. Many don’t realize there are around 27 million people enslaved across the world, America too. Human trafficking is a $32 billion industry—second only to drug trafficking. That’s why we felt we needed to highlight it; anything that profitable will only continue if you don’t stop the safeguards that other-wise allow it to grow.

We felt for our organization, this was a step higher than fair trade. We do of course incorporate Fair Trade practices, but this goes to changing a system. The IJM works within govern-ments to empower them to abolish slavery practices.

My first profession was nursing, and it always seemed like we were one step behind correcting problems; we talked pre-ventive medicine but that was not the focus. We never could get to the root causes. In this case, IJM affects the roots of the problem. When I open my cultural café, we will highlight organizations that do after care for people who are brought out of slavery, equipping them with skills to get jobs so they won’t be drawn back into that life. A huge portion of human trafficking is, of course, sex trafficking of young women and men, but also workers in forced labor. Many don’t have a choice and most can’t see how to get out. When we open the café, working for aftercare in communities both abroad and here in America will be highlighted. IJM serves as the umbrel-la that changes the system, and other agencies we support help fill in gaps.

Our motto at K’Tizo Tea is “Awaken the soul.” K’Tizo has fantastic teas, we love connecting people, helping them appre-ciate a unique cultural experience and make great connec-tions. Hopefully we start it over a cup of tea!

literally means new creation or new formation. One company has adopted this idea into their philoso-phy with regard to tea blending, com-

since tea is connected deeply to many cultures. I developed a tea line that would feature a lot of

blends. I do love and appreciate our pure teas because

K’Tizo Tea gives back by

supporting human rights

and by forging bonds both

stateside and abroad.

MAKING CHANGE

K’Tizo

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The Tea Spottheteaspot.com

Specialty: Signature BlendsMission: Cancer AwarenessThe Scoop: The Tea Spot do-nates 10% of profits to cancer awareness, research, and well-ness programs. They do this to actively support the cause that fuels their passion: main-taining the on-going well-ness of cancer survivors and facilitating healthy habits to decrease cancer risks. The Tea Spot’s passion is fueled by their founder and CEO, Maria Uspenski, an ovarian cancer survivor initially drawn to the health benefits of premium tea during her recovery. The

company is inspired by med-ical research suggesting that tea provides numerous health benefits, from helping prevent disease to stress management and weight loss. To date, The Tea Spot has made donations through dozens of health and community initiatives including: National Race to End Women’s Cancer, Rocky Mountain Cancer Center, Living Journey’s Summit Hike, Casting for Recovery, Ovarian Cancer Awareness of Ken-tucky, Junior League of Den-ver, A Woman’s Work, Cancer Climber Association, Hospice-Care of Boulder and Broom-field Counties, and Colorado Ovarian Cancer Alliance.

Teatuliateatulia.com

Specialty: Exquisite, Organic TeasMission: Wages/Environmental AwarenessThe Scoop: Teatulia organic tea comes directly to customers from their organic tea garden. Started in 2000 to give back to the community, they sought an enterprise that would give people a living wage while protecting/strengthening the environment. Not content with the social programs already in place, the Teatulia Cooperative has established revolutionary education, health and cattle-lending programs

for the people working in the garden and surrounding areas. All sales of Teatulia Organic Teas contribute to this mission, helping to better the lives of Bangladeshi men, women and children while rebuilding the local ecosystem.

Tealettealet.com

Specialty: Curated Teas Direct from the GrowerMission: Supporting Tea GrowersThe Scoop: Tealet has grown a passion for advocating for the growers who have worked for generations upon generations to perfect the art


honesttea.comSPECIALTY: Bottled Teas; Great-tasting, healthy organic beveragesMISSION: Sustainability

Since 2009, the Bethesda, MD-based organic bottled tea company HONEST Tea® released a mission report outlining to customers how they balance sustainability, product quality and safety with increasing sales. The report explores changes they have made in sourcing, sup-ply lines, and ingredient purchases. Considering Honest Tea cleared more than $100 million in sales in 2013, we went to “Tea-EO” Seth Goldman to find out their sustainability-to-suc-cess secret.

TM: How do you promote better environmental awareness to your customers?

Goldman: In a lot of ways. All of our products are organic and our

packaging promotes it on caps and on the plastic bottles. We also do a lot

of environmental messaging in stores—things like promoting Earth Day in April,

promoting free reusable shopping bags for five bottles of tea, things like that. We started our Great

Recycle campaign in stores and urban areas with big 30-foot and 10-foot high bins to make a strong statement about recycling ef-forts. We offer awards for groups and businesses that participate in the event and provide recycling education at the events.

TM: Talk about the microloan program Honest Tea has established.

Goldman: All of the tea we buy is Fair Trade certified, and we commit a portion of the purchase price to supplier communities to invest in what they deem important. We let communities determine where the needs are, so we set up funds in microloans, and those organizations decide how best the money can be spent. Some have it going to infrastructure, to funding health care, to investing in things like biogas stoves for villagers to heat their food properly.

TM: How do you get other businesses on track to follow your lead on setting sustainability standards?

Goldman: Everyone, both individuals and companies, are on a path toward sustainability. It is a natural interest for tea companies who are dependent on ecosystems such as clean water and soil for growth, and for their products to be brewed with access to quality water. The question businesses need to ask is, how are you challenging yourself? Our perspective is to encourage companies to ask those questions on how they are being more inventive with their own footprints. Even we made a lot of progress from when we first started; we had no organic certification in the beginning, now all of our teas are certified. We have been working hard to make our packaging more environmentally efficient, but that said, it’s a continual improvement process.

The other way to encourage sustainability is through community partnerships. For example, we were buying this ingredient called Tulsi, a basil leaf herbal tea grown in India, and we learned the growers were only making 14 cents a kilo. So we helped them set up drying shelters for the leaves--ba-sic wood flats with a covering for wind protection. Now the growers in that community can sell a dry product and make $3.80 per kilo! It started with self-interest for us for our supply chain, but for that community, they can now make a better living. When I visited last, their capacity went to producing 100,000 kilos a year from 10,000. So our investment helped produce a better supply chain!

Since 2009, the Bethesda, MD-based

Tea® released a mission report outlining to customers how they balance sustainability, product quality and safety with increasing sales. The

of environmental messaging in stores—things like promoting Earth Day in April,

promoting free reusable shopping bags for five bottles of tea, things like that. We started our Great

PUTTING MONEY WHERE THEIR CAUSE ISHonest Tea backs up their support for

sustainability—and encourages others to do the same.

Honest Tea

nesco.com

The NESCO® Real Tea TEA MAKER is a must-have for any tea lover.

The option to brew loose or bagged tea, in addition to its variable steeping

times, opens a whole new world of possibili-teas. Water filters through

the one-liter heating chamber at perfect tea temperature (not too hot

for delicate white or green teas), steeps for the set time you select and

automatically flows into the glass pot. It’s tea as easy as 1-2-3!

real tea, real easy.

©2012 The Metal Ware Corp

a cuppa for a cause - david riosite.davidrio.com/pressreleases/teamagazinemarchaprilp32.pdfa cuppa...

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