Many tea companies these days are focusing on the tea itself—sourcing it, blending it, and describing its taste. But what about packaging it?
Don't judge a book by its cover, they say...but if that cover is made from 100% recyclable cardboard, isn't the book worth a second look?
Many tea companies these days are focusing on the tea itself—sourcing it, blending it, and describing its taste, as they should be. But we don't think packaging should be an afterthought. The packaging of gourmet loose leaf tea is essential to not only the taste, freshness, and presentation of the tea, but also to the Earth which it comes from. The team at Heavenly Tea Leaves has made one of its central missions a strong commitment to changing the way we think about packaging—namely, packaging that is environmentally conscious and helps dramatically reduce our carbon footprint.
It's worth taking a moment to pan out and understand the value of going green. Climate change is an inevitable reality, and human waste has a lot to do with it. Many of the greenhouse gases we produce through dirty farming practices, draining of natural resources like clean water, water and air pollution, and of course, contamination, are the culprits. As the earth becomes steadily hotter with each passing year, the weather becomes more severe, the air becomes less breathable, water levels rise, animals and plants suffer, people are displaced from their homes, and much of the land that used to be arable becomes dry and unusable. The secondary consequences of these primary consequences are immeasurable, and sadly, not always reversible.
In an effort to be kind to the Earth and maintain its "fertility," we believe that every consumer company has a responsibility to do its part in regards to keeping our waste and our planet in mind. We're talking about plastics and other cheap, synthetic materials that often take thousands of years to biodegrade. Heavenly Tea Leaves certainly takes this promise head-on. It's a huge deal, for example, to use products that are biodegradable, naturally wearing down with the Earth over time as opposed to piling up in a mountain of garbage that could very well end up in the sea, forming islands or choking wildlife.
The most obvious benefit for a tea company (or any other item that comes from the Earth) in going green is that our product, in fact, comes from the Earth. So the better we treat it now, the more (better quality and more fairly priced) tea we can continue to reap from the land. But if not? Good tea will become scarce and harder to farm, so we lose, you lose, and so do the hardworking tea farmers around the world who dedicate their lives to sustainably farming this special and beloved plant (not to mention, the number of artisanal tea farmers around the world is already in decline).
Whenever possible, we keep our teas organic and sustainably farmed, but our commitment doesn't stop there. Our multi-purpose, reusable tins, for example, are sturdy and beautiful enough to be upcycled and used for storage of tea as well as various other items in the kitchen or home (sewing kit, perhaps!). The Heavenly Tea Leaves tea sampler boxes are made of biodegradable kraft paper and are printed using soy-based ink.
Most striking is the compostable kraft paper pouches in which many of our loose leaf teas are sold. In addition, we are in the process of switching from foil liner (liner is the protective barrier for the inside of the bag) to a "bioplastic" liner made of corn starch, rendering the making of it "a self-sustainable process." Click here to read more about our specific mission to be an eco-friendly company from the bottom up.
Among the main solutions to the dilemma of global warming, as detailed by scientists, are renewable technology, consuming less, being efficient, sustainable development, and managing agriculture. The leadership at Heavenly Tea Leaves is proud to be making strides toward solving perhaps the greatest challenge of our time. By trying out our products, you can be part of the solution, too.