We Won: Sustainable Drink Brand of the Year
You've heard us say it before: we're on a mission to make every cup of tea work harder for the planet and its people.
In our 50 years of work, being acknowledged for this work never gets old—but this might just be our biggest honor yet: winning Sustainable Drink Brand of the Year in Marie Claire’s 2024 Sustainability Awards.
Every year, globally celebrated lifestyle publication, Marie Claire, hosts a panel of 50 judges featuring activists, CEOs, influencers, writers, experts from numerous industries, and a sustainability consultancy (full list available here) to track down and celebrate companies that are “genuinely implementing change and building a better tomorrow.”
Why is such a massive effort put into this awards process? Editor-in-Chief of Marie Claire UK, Andrea Thompson, says, “As more and more companies are being called out for greenwashing, it is vital that our awards continue to recognise businesses that prioritize both people and planet. We want to champion companies that not only show sustainable innovation in their products and services, but also hold themselves accountable in their business operations.
In other words, they’re doing the hard investigative work of vetting company claims so that you don’t have to. They asked us questions like:
- How does your company approach ethical and responsible consumption in its operations or product offerings?
- Please tell us more about what you do to address human rights and labor conditions in the supply chain. We are looking for information about how you provide financial security, health and safety, wellness, career development, engagement and satisfaction.
- Please tell us what your product or service does to promote environmentally friendly behavior change.
- Please provide evidence of what your company has done to consciously improve its packaging.
- Please provide evidence of industry collaborations you are a part of and what these do to tackle sustainability challenges.
And they didn’t just take our word for it; each question required documentation and verification from our partners in this work.
As truly honored as we are to have received this prestigious recognition, we promise you this isn’t the climax of our story. This acknowledgement is affirmation that the infinite path towards progress that we’re on is well-worth our efforts; that our industry does see value in the changes we’re making and our communities are experiencing their impact. That’s the real reward that we’ll keep pursuing for many, many years to come.
Read Marie Claire’s full article here.