Why Choose Organic Tea with the Fair Trade Label?

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Why Choose Organic Tea with the Fair Trade Label?

by Autumn White of Choice Organic Teas/Granum, Inc.

The Fair Trade Certified. label on a box of tea is the consumer guarantee

that tea estate workers in developing countries have been paid a fair wage,

have safe working conditions and receive quality healthcare. The Fair Trade

Certified label also denotes that a Fair Trade premium was paid, by US tea

importers, directly to tea garden workers for the benefit of their

communities. Use of the premium fund is collectively decided upon by the

workers and has included benefits such as educational scholarships,

electrification of villages, health vaccinations, and pension funds for

retired workers. According to the TransFair USA 2003 Annual Report, US Fair

Trade Certified tea sales generated over $85,000 in additional funds that

tea workers have used to improve their communities.

Fair Trade Standards promote sustainable farming methods and set limits on

the use of agricultural chemicals in order to protect worker health and

safety. In the United States nearly 100% of Fair Trade Certified tea is also

certified organic. For example, Makaibari, a privately-owned tea garden in

the famous district of Darjeeling in northeastern India was one of the first

gardens to be 100% certified organic. Ownership at Makaibari, long dedicated

to the principles of Fair Trade and worker empowerment, implemented organic

practices in the early 1970s.

The Koslanda Tea Estate in Sri Lanka is also 100% certified organic and is

committed to environmental sustainability by using cover crops,

inter-cropping and recycling animal and plant waste. Workers at the Koslanda

Tea Estate voted to use Fair Trade premiums to provide their community with

low interest loans that would otherwise be unattainable. With these funds,

households have purchased propane stovetops, which have eliminated the hours

a day needed to collect firewood, improved their indoor air quality and

prevented deforestation of the surrounding area.

In the United States, compliance with Fair Trade Standards is enforced by

TransFair USA (www.transfairusa.org), a third party, non-profit organization

affiliated with the certification network of the Fairtrade Labelling

Organizations International (FLO) (www.fairtrade.net). FLO sets and

regularly reviews the worldwide Fair Trade Standards and TransFair USA

authorizes the use of the Fair Trade Certified label in the US.

Choice Organic Teas adopted Fair Trade early on and has certified all

qualifying teas by paying appropriate premiums to the workers of more than a

dozen gardens throughout the world. Look for Choice Organic Teas (www

choiceorganicteas.com) and enjoy great tasting tea that empowers workers to

have an active role in improving their own lives.

For more information visit:

http://www.choiceorganicteas.com

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