Exert is provided by Numi Tea. Visit their website here.
Organics
Numi specializes in certified organic tea. Conventional tea exposes workers to
harmful chemicals sprayed on the tea leaves. In China, 42,800 new cases of
pesticide poisoning were reported in 1994, including 3,900 fatalities. All but
one of Numi’s 22 teas and teasans are Certified Organic and Kosher, and Numi is
currently in the process of helping certify the orchard where it’s Dry Desert Lime
grows.
Fair Trade
Numi works with Transfair for Fair Trade Certification and has also been
instrumental in the launch of the new Fair Labor Practices and Community Benefits
Certification developed by SCS, a leading U.S. sustainability standards developer
and certifier in sectors such as food, forestry, fisheries, and cut flowers.
In 2006, 16 of Numi’s teas were Fair Trade CertifiedT making Numi one of the top
importers of Fair Trade CertifiedT tea into the US. In China alone, Numi paid
more than $23,000 USD in social premiums to their suppliers in 2005-2006.
Community
A high percentage of the hand assembly of Numi’s bamboo items are assembled by
women. With the option of working from home, they are able to take care of their
children and household, while still earning the income from bamboo production.
In 2005, flooding took more than 600 lives, and forced the evacuation of about
333,000 people. Numi donated more than $10,000 USD to the bamboo supplier to help
with replacement of equipment and the rebuilding of the factory.
Here in the U.S, Numi’s assorted packs and bamboo items are assembled by people
with disabilities. For more than 4 years, Numi has worked with Community Gatepath
for assembly production needs. For each dollar of business we give to Community
Gatepath, the state of CA matches that dollar to support their programs.
Sustainability
All of Numi’s packaging materials are biodegradable and/or recyclable, and our
retail products are cello-wrap free. More than 95% of our packaging materials
incorporate the use of post-consumer waste or bamboo. In the village in Guangxi,
China, where the bamboo is produced, they switched from the harsh fumes of
petroleum-based lacquer to the use of 100% natural lacquer back in 2004.
Furthermore, in 2007, Numi has switched to soy based inks for the printing of its
retail cartons and other printed materials.
This commitment was verified by the California Integrated Waste Management Board
through their Waste Reduction Awards Program (WRAP), when Numi won the “Wrap of
the Year” award for 2006. This award ranked Numi among the top 5 companies in the
state for the use of sustainable packaging and general waste-reduction
initiatives.
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