Sustainable Tea
A process that is sustainable can be maintained indefinitely.
By supporting sustainable business practices, it means that we do not
take more from the world than we give back and that we consciously choose
how we interact with the environment. Our reliance on renewable resources,
as well as on symbiotic relationships with nature and the community,
are motivated by our belief in connecting human and material resources
without devaluing the integrity of the individual or the planet.
Our mission is to offer the highest quality, organically grown teas
available. We purchase our tea directly from small farms and co-ops
from around the world, providing families in developing countries with
a fair price for their goods. We also buy fair trade teas that are authorized
by Transfair USA, ensuring fair working conditions, fair wages and a
better life for tea workers from eleven countries across Africa, Asia
and Latin America.
We, at Art of Tea have an optimistic vision of the future and a comprehensive
strategy to implement that vision. Our sense of personal environmental
responsibility is evident in our commitment to practices that contribute
to the sustainability of our planet and the communities in which we
live and work. Our standard procedures include:
• Recycling of viable business products as feasible, including
the reuse of packaging material.
• The use of biodegradable materials for our teabags.
• On site composting, used for soil nutrification in our workplace
garden. We compost teas that do not meet our quality standards, any
outdated products, and teas used for taste tests.
• Business operation using only sustainable energy sources; no
fossil fuels.
• Use of reclaimed office furnishings; desks and dividers.
• Use of eco friendly paint in our warehouse.
• Installation of compact fluorescent lighting in our warehouse.
• Use of energy efficient machinery and appliances.
• Use of eco friendly, biodegradable cleaning products.
• Our billing is done electronically with no paper waste.
In addition to our organically grown, wholly kosher line of teas through
KOAOA, we provide our customers with ecologically responsible products,
offering them refillable tea tins and eco-mugs that are made from corn.
We regularly support various charitable organizations, including Tree
People, KCRW Public Radio Station, Girls, Inc., Sundance Institute,
Vista Del Mar Child and Family Services, as well as local environmental
and educational programs.
We are proud of our efforts in making tangible, lasting changes to the
business as usual approach to our trade and the environment. We encourage
each individual to accept personal responsibility for reducing the industrial,
and individual impact on the ecosystem by reducing our carbon footprint
and to take part in our mission towards a sustainable future; in line
with the Brundtland Commission which “meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their
own needs”.
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