Making Sustainability Work Right From Day 1!
OrientalTeaBox: Making Sustainability Work Right From Day1!
It’s hard to face a problem if you just think of it as an afterthought. It’s exactly why we at OrientalTeaBox have chosen to take the stand to put the planet’s sustainability front and center in our business right from the very start.
Yes, fight from Day 1. From product concept to customer service.
And what better roadmap to guide us in this global pursuit than the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) blueprint, a product of decades of research and international cooperation from countries all over the planet? Indeed, we are heeding their urgent call to action to help Mother Earth.
It’s no ordinary task. With such a gigantic work cut out before us, environmental sustainability needs as many hands on deck as possible. But we deeply believe this is doable.
Our strategic approach, then, is to ensure our business processes follow the sustainability goal to heart from product development to customer service. And that every business partner we work with is aligned with the principle — looking at the planet’s long-term well-being from the onset.
In short, we are picky.
Learn below how we intend to make this world a better place than when we found it, for the generation today and for our children’s children tomorrow. Right from Day 1.
Taking the United Nation’s 17 SDGs to Heart
As serious as the environmental issues plaguing the planet is, the last thing we need is to be haphazard about it. Being concrete is paramount when facing such huge challenges as combating pollution and global warming.
Fortunately, United Nations’ 17 SDGs provided just the blueprint to show us how.
What’s really amazing is how much effort has been given to come up with these comprehensive guidelines. It’s a work built on decades of collaboration and studies by a host of countries from all over the world. Under the United Nations' watch, of course. Some of these events involved are:
● 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro involving 178 countries
● 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in South Africa
● 2015 Paris Agreement for Climate Change
Thus when it comes to fighting poverty, clearing the oceans and the land of pollution, the UN’s 17 SDG Goals provides a ready target. To galvanize us at OrientalTeaBox into action.
Making a Difference on Land
For countless decades there, industrialization took a toll on the soil. As industrial wastes pile up in landfills, the fertility of the soil has steadily decreased lowering the productivity of crops and endangering humanity with toxic food.
Mindful of this, we have made extra efforts to ensure that our products that come from farming go through a rigorous process that not only benefits the end user but also takes care of the land from which these products are grown.
A prime example of this is our tea, our flagship product.
A Single-origin and Fair-trade Product
What’s more, we focus on delivering single-origin and Fair-trade tea. That may sound like a mouthful but what it does should make a better place for people who do the hard work in farming.
Single origin, simply put, means you can trace the actual region and farm from where the tea leaves were grown. By doing so, a buyer would be able to support single-origin products better. And give credit to the tea farmers that cultivate them.
By practicing single-origin tea, we ensure that each and every independent tea farmer working with us get the support they deserve. And win in their harvest.
Even better, we practice Fair-trade tea. This means small-scale tea farmers in our organization are assured of the Fair-trade minimum price of their tea products each time they are on the market. It’s an assurance they get paid for their hard work.
Indeed, it’s all about the process. Being an ethical producer of tea may look tedious. But incorporating these practices ensures that tea can be produced without harming Mother Nature in the long run. And that everyone who works hard to grow the product get compensated accordingly.
Presenting Our Ethical Tea
With about 2.6 billion cups of tea consumed worldwide daily, it’s no wonder the nootropic drink from the Camella Sinensis shrub is the #1 drink in the world — second only to water.
But we don’t just produce tea, we produce ethical tea.
Under the dynamic leadership of founder Yvonne Han, a revolutionary top-caliber agricultural innovator, our customers can take a sip from tea that is not only hand-picked but also produced without the use of harmful herbicides or pesticides.
In short, we practice ethical farming. By doing so, we ensure sustainability so that soil, water, turf, and other vegetation do not get contaminated by toxic chemicals.
Helping Protect the Planet’s Oceans
Another key area where man-made pollution takes its greatest toll is in our oceans. As vast as the oceans are, many have taken their value for granted relegating them to the role of a dumping area. Today, there are 15-51 trillion pieces of plastic scattered all over the world’s oceans — not to mention an inordinate amount of harmful chemicals polluting them.
This is where again we take a stand. Here we make it a point to refine the process so the oceans are protected best.
Our Fa Gau: Ethical Business from Ocean to the Plate
Fa Gau or more commonly called fish maw has been a most sought-after dish in the Orient mainly for the health benefits it brings. In essence, it’s the collagen-filled dried bladder of a croaker, cod, or sturgeon, big fishes that thrive in the ocean.
Over the centuries, Fa Gau has been an in-demand ocean offering for the “chi” (vitality) it brings. Consequently, the prized delicacy commands a considerable price tag.
As demand grew exponentially, so did the wily imaginations of unscrupulous businessmen. Not only do many deceive people by producing imitation Fa Gau using shark skin for instance but also they use the gall bladder of smaller fishes branding them as the real thing.
In short, these shady entrepreneurs took the money and run.
This is where we choose to make a distinction. Our Fa Gau is certified ethical Fa Gau, taking care of the ocean from where it came from and ensuring our consumers get their money’s worth of quality goods.
First up, we make sure that our product comes from the deep waters of the Atlantic Ocean. That’s exactly why we brand our fish maw with pride as “Caught in the Wild”.
Getting big fish from the deep ensures that we catch only those that are ready for harvesting. This ensures we don’t overfish and the population of the fish being harvested remains sustainable and the delicate balance of nature is kept.
Certified Sustainable Fishing
We go even a step further. To ensure that the fish we bring to market is as fresh as possible, we put traceability in our catch.
To do this, we keep a fish database. We record the fish catch date and then use cellular data acquired via vessel monitoring to transmit pertinent information about the catch. Moreover, we utilize a host of data-capture mechanisms to record the journey of the catch from the ocean to the port.
Indeed, we use smart technology making the most of smartphones and cloud technology to record the transaction between fish buyers and brokers at their point-of-sales.
We don’t let any stone unturned. We record the size, volume, and date of the catch making sure we’re partnering only with duly licensed ethical fishermen.
In essence, we put a premium on the freshness of the fish. So Fa Gau arrives on your table as delicious as you want it to be.
Again, it sounds like a lengthy process. But it’s definitely worth the effort to keep the oceans as fresh as possible and the customers as happy as ever.
Today, our Fa Gau is MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) certified. Our state-of-the-art harvest technology is devised to fight overfishing in the world’s oceans, sticking to the rigorous process detailed by MSC. So fishes thrive best and everyone on the planet can have their fair share of the ocean’s harvest.
Further, our Fa Gau is BRC (British Retail Consortium) certified. Thus, every time you partake of the product you’re partaking in one that’s passed the global standard for food safety.
Making the Right Choice from Day 1
OrientalTeaBox is committed to putting sustainability at the heart of our business. We do not just pay lip service to the cause but choose to provide a positive social impact to everyone in our sphere of influence. Right from the very start.
Even as we expand our product lines and our reach, we aim to be part of a global circular economy. Our upcoming products reflect this.
For instance, the pashmina shawl, a world-renowned wearable from the mountains of Kashmir, speaks volumes about protecting Mother Nature.
Making the Right Choice from Day 1
OrientalTeaBox is committed to putting sustainability at the heart of our business. We do not just pay lip service to the cause but choose to provide a positive social impact to everyone in our sphere of influence. Right from the very start.
Even as we expand our product lines and our reach, we aim to be part of a global circular economy. Our upcoming products reflect this.
For instance, the pashmina shawl, a world-renowned wearable from the mountains of Kashmir, speaks volumes about protecting Mother Nature.
A proud heritage of the farmer artisans of the Indian region, pashmina shawls carry handmade art to the highest degree. Truly, the age-old craft passed from one generation to another is a precious gift to the world. More importantly, it’s a sustainable one. While the outstanding product line boasts of ethical sourcing of its materials, it also parades ethical compensation for those who handcrafted it.
Indeed, we are confident we are making a difference in all these. Not only do we have the 17 United Nations SDGs to guide us, but we’ve generated countless smiles of satisfaction both from the customers who have enjoyed our products and from the people responsible for making our products happen.
And we should definitely say, Mother Earth too.
Our secret to achieving sustainability is simple: It’s all about the right process and the right partnerships.
But above and beyond, it’s all about making the right decision. Sustainability right from Day 1.