Sustainable Tea: Food for the Soul

Sustainable tea: the warm blush of steeped leaves fills the air as you walk into a tea shop searching for food and drink. While coffee dominates much of North Americans' lives and corner cafes, tea is just as important in many cultures. England's entry into Asia has been attributed to its interest in tea as well as other trade goods. Like coffee, there is a controversy over what constitutes sustainable and fair trade tea. Unlike coffee, fair trade and sustainable teas are less well-known and less prominent in the minds of activists and tea connoisseurs.

How does tea grow? Tea is a plant that is steeped in water, so tea can grow anywhere. From mint to rose hips, people around the world grow plants, steep them and drink the resulting brew. However, the tea that many think of when they think of tea is black or green tea, the stronger energizing brew that has an English flavor and Asian origins. The leaves of Camellia sinensis that morph into black or green tea grow only in acidic soil and in places that receive plentiful rainfall. Given the right conditions, tea bushes naturally grow to tree height, but they are pruned and planted in rows for ease of picking.

Where does tea grow, exactly? Who is growing and picking our tea? While herbal tea can come from many different sources, green and black tea comes from a leaf from a bush that grows in warm parts of the world. India is the biggest exporter of tea in the world, with about a quarter of the world's tea to its credit. China is next, then Kenya and Sri Lanka. As with coffee, this delicacy is shipped around the world. Around the world, six million acres of land are used as tea plantations.

If it logs so many flight miles, can tea be sustainable? In some ways, yes. Using sensible soil and water management practices makes tea production more sustainable, even if it's not perfect. The tea plantations certified by the alliance conserve water and work to manage and conserve soil.In 2007, Unilever made a commitment to purchase sustainable tea leaves, leaves that are certified by the Rainforest Alliance. All Lipton tea that is sold in Yellow Label bags should be certified by the end of this year. All Lipton teas should be certified by 2015.

Tea production employs many people, and it can be a social benefit as long as wages and working conditions are good. The fair trade movement goes further than environmental sustainability to focus on sustainable communities. Fair trade tea is fair for both workers and the environment, ensuring that workers can provide a good life for their families with a sensible and healthy workplace and work schedule. Environmental sustainability is part of this ethic too, since it benefits the health of workers to use fewer pesticides and keep a healthy work environment.

Do you support buying imported products in order to support sustainable livelihoods around the world? Do you buy fair trade tea?