ANN ARBOR, Mich.
Food and beverage choices are central to consumer perceptions of sustainability which means buyers of sustainable products are less likely to make tradeoffs they view as essential to their quality of life.
Aubrey and Jeremy Lopatin, a husband and wife team of tea enthusiasts, started Arbor Teas in 2004 in their hometown of Ann Arbor, Michigan, intent on creating a tea company as passionate about tea and the environment as they are.
From its collection of USDA organic and Fair Trade Certified® teas, to its Carbonfree® business practices and backyard compostable packaging, Arbor Teas’ passion is steeped in a desire to do worldly good, and its vision is to remain “organic to a tea.”
Most compostable/biodegradable packaging material nowadays only breaks down under specialized conditions. Waste must be processed in big industrial composting units that regulate temperature and oxygen. Backyard compostable materials, on the other hand, will literally break down if you just toss them in your back yard and cover them with soil (though they will do so much faster if you have a home compost pile, of course).
Few realize that, pound-for-pound, the most carbon-intensive step in the tea delivery process is the final preparation by the consumer. With this in mind, Arbor Teas offers Eco-Brewing Tips detailing how to prepare tea in the most Earth-friendly way. On the Arbor Teas website customers will also find detailed information on how each step of the tea production, packaging, and distribution process has been designed to minimize environmental impact.
“Over the past 7 years, we've taken copious notes on how to make ArborTeas.com better and better. We’ve always offered excellent organic loose leaf tea, a deep commitment to sustainability, and excellent customer service - now we’re proud to offer an excellent website that does it all justice!” says Co-owner Aubrey Lopatin.