Tea and Herbs Suppliers
We are working with ethical tea gardens in Sri Lanka, India and
China, who understand and have been following sustainable farming
practices for over 30 years. Many of our suppliers have been with
us for several decades due to the fact that we recognize their
commitment to protect the crop as well as the quality of life they
offer the workers and their families such as providing higher than
average wages, free room and board and free medical treatment.
Our worldwide supplier of tea and herbs practices holistic
sustainability principles, including a focus on environmental,
economic and social responsibility throughout their supply chains.
Recognizing their interdependence with nature, some of their
suppliers use a technique called controlled, integrated
cultivation (CIC), which emphasizes fewer chemical pesticides
and long-standing contracts with farmers. In some cases, their
suppliers purchase land to ensure sustainability and ample supply.
Our supplier uses their own seeding and breeding techniques, and
then plant, grow and harvest the plants. Our tea supplier ensures
quality through a comprehensive, certified quality management
system, which covers every aspect of the process from soil and seed
to the finished ingredients used in our teas. Here are a few
examples of what they are doing to make a difference:
Reducing Environmental Impacts
During Production and Distribution
- Our growers reduce waste through methods like
composting herbal tea dust and spreading it on the fields
as a natural fertilizer.
Focusing on Fair Working Conditions and Providing
Opportunities for People
- Our supplier personally establishes long-term agreements with
their business partners, including customers, laboratories,
employees, farmers and families
- They ensure working conditions meet strict guidelines on social
and ethical responsibility through regular audits
- They partner with local organizations to improve the lives of
their workers, including support for building wells, sanitary
facilities or even schools in the communities
-
Supporting Fair Trade
- We at Bigelow Tea currently offer three fair trade teas: Organic
Ceylon, English Breakfast and Novus South Indian
Select, which we source from fair trade vendors
- Much of our tea is grown in high elevation tea gardens in Sri
Lanka, where farm workers are unionized, providing them quality of
life with higher than average wages, medical treatment, room and
board
Back
to Supplier Relationships