HONEST® Tea’s Ongoing Innovation & Sustainability Efforts Detailed in Behind-the-Scenes Report
(Bethesda, Md. – October 22, 2013) – HONEST Tea®, the nation’s top-selling organic bottled tea company; today released its 2013 Mission Report. The report is part of the business’s ongoing efforts to be transparent about its business practices and its mission “to seek to create and promote great-tasting, healthier, organic beverages.” Using data for the calendar year of 2012, the company increased purchases of organic ingredients by more than 500,000 lbs. for a total of 4.9 million lbs., which is 13% more than the previous year and more than six times the amount purchased from 2007 which equaled 790,000 lbs. of organic ingredients. The report also highlights the company’s efforts and challenges to promote organics and reduce its environmental footprint. The report highlights several new initiatives taken in the past year, including:
- Honest Tea’s reformulated its HONEST Kids line by removing the organic cane sugar and increasing the organic fruit juice content. In order to implement such a major ingredient change, the company had to work with suppliers in Turkey, Argentina and the United States to procure enough juice.
- The Great Recycle campaign expanded since our inaugural event in New York City’s Time Square and by May 2013 had traveled to seven states collecting more than 70,000 beverage containers, keeping plastic, glass, and aluminum containers of all shapes and sizes out of landfills and recycled according to the guidelines of the specific jurisdictions.
- Since 2003, Honest Tea has contributed over $397,000 in Fair Trade premiums, reinvesting in education, agriculture and community projects where the tea is sourced. In 2012-2013, the company increased the amount of its Fair Trade premiums by 19% over the previous year.
“There is no such thing as a socially responsible business because that term suggests that an enterprise has reached a destination and there is no more work to be done,’ said Honest Tea co-founder and TeaEO, Seth Goldman. “Our annual mission report helps Honest Tea and its stakeholders understand where we’ve made progress, and how much more work we have to do. Our progress in growing the demand and the supply of organic ingredients helps illustrate that our efforts to democratize organic and healthy beverages are bearing some fruit, but there is still more work to be done..”
