Social & Sustainability
Social & Sustainability
The Healthier the Planet, The Better the Tea
We Want to Maintain A Better World
Can you imagine a world without tea? Neither can we. That’s why we follow a multi-step approach to environmental stewardship. We also actively participate in promoting the fair treatment of the people who produce our products.
Too many corporations see these factors as too costly to implement. Others view them as indulging social ideals over profit. Our experience shows that a commitment to people and the planet has the opposite affect.
ESG - Environmental, Social & Governance
We dedicated to environmental and social sustainability. As a global business, we are aware of our impact on the world, and we work to implement initiatives to harmonize our profits with the health of the planet.
Solar Powered Facility
We installed 2,600 solar panels on our roof. Annually, we generate 3x the amount of electricity used by our factory. This is enough to power 130 homes for a year.
In a typical year, our solar array avoids 1,200,000 pounds of CO2, 4,000 pounds of SO2 (sulfur dioxide) and 1,200 pounds of ozone-depleting NOx (Nitrogen oxides).
In other terms, this is annually equivalent to planting 10,000 trees, saving 45,000 gallons of gasoline, and 288,000 gallons of water.
Wetland Preservation & Carbon Sequester Forest
We believe it is our responsibility to offset the carbon we generate each year.
Therefore, we planted and continue to maintain 15,000 trees as part of our commitment to the UN’s Billion Tree Program and the Government of Ontario's 50 Million Tree Program. 80 acres of historical wetland and an additional 80 acres of Carolinian Forest have been protected from development and provide habitats for numerous species as well.
Grown on Family Farms
We work with family owned and operated tea and herb farming enterprises in more than 35 different countries around the world. Families retain the pride of ownership and attention to luxury tea.
Enviromental Friendly Packaging
Say NO to PLASTIC!
To promote recycling and minimize waste, we use compostable and biodegradable materials for all our packaging, which can 100% decompose.
100% Compostable Plant-Based Pyramid Tea Bags
Our pyramid tea bags are made from a plant-based compostable material called PLA, which stands for Polylactic Acid and is produced from the starches of corn, sugar cane, and cassava. They are are both commercially compostable and biodegradable. This has been our standard for the last 23 years. The tea bags by weight are 90% home compostable.
100% Compostable Tea Bag Envelopes
We are pleased to introduce, as of January 2023, our 100% compostable overwrap envelopes made from an all-new material comprising of organic compound base paper, compostable adhesive, PLA (polylactic acid) film and printed with inks that are also home compostable. All of our private label packing and METZ Luxury Tea bags are made to this standard. The tea envelopes by weight are 98% home compostable.
100% Compostable Tea Pocuhes
Our compostable pouches are made from natural plant starch. They break down readily in a composting system through microbial activity to create compost.
Ethical Tea Tastes Better
We became the first non-UK firm to obtain the membership of Ethical Tea Partnership (ETP) . To this day, whenever possible, we buy from ETP approved Estates, and promote their policies on our travels around the globe.
The goal of the ETP is to provide consumers with a complete understanding of where tea is grown and manufactured. Everything from fair compensation to health coverage, housing and childcare comes under close scrutiny.
We work in partnership with the ETP to tackle the deep-rooted issues that are holding back the sustainability of the tea sector.
Fairtrade
While you won’t find any Fairtrade labelled teas in our line-up, we do carry many teas grown on Fairtrade certified estates. We choose to forego the Fairtrade label, since they are a for-profit organization.
While many of Fairtrade’s ethical policies reflect our own, our experience has shown that better results can be made through the Ethical Tea Partnership. As well, many Tea Estates remain beyond the scope of Fairtrade.
