Yes, I am a tree hugger. In my world, that’s not a derogatory term. Environmental considerations often drive many of my day to day decisions and behaviors. In my home, my husband Bryan and I take care to recycle all we can, replace light bulbs with energy efficient ones, keep the thermostat at conservative settings, take short showers, don’t use the heat dry setting on the dishwasher (when we actually use it), use our reusable shopping bags at the store, and continually find ways to do our part. We don’t have hybrid vehicles, we don’t have sustainable bamboo flooring, or a composting garden…yet. Even though, we do what we can within our reason to live in harmony with Mother Earth.

I bring this philosophy with me into the operations of Discover Teas. One of my goals with Discover Teas is to have an environmentally conscious attitude in the decisions I make with my business as well. Choosing to partner with other businesses with like mindedness, using biodegradable, compostable and recycled disposables ...and yes, we did put energy saving light bulbs in the shop as well.

The teas we choose to carry are imported from around the world. The tea plantations that produce our teas are those that try to have the least impact environmentally as possible—such as incorporating organic farming, fair working conditions for their employees, and sustainability practices working to reduce the impact on the environment.

Even though we have selections of organic, fair trade, and certified ETP (Ethical Trade Partnership) teas, many of our teas are not certified organic or fair trade. Why? It doesn’t mean much. More on why these certifications aren’t as relevant in the tea industry in the next blog.