Arbor Teas CELEBRATES EARTH DAY

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ANN ARBOR-BASED TEA COMPANY CELEBRATES EARTH DAY
BY LAUNCHING NEW 100% BACKYARD COMPOSTABLE PACKAGING
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN – Arbor Teas (www.arborteas.com) celebrates Earth Day 2010 by releasing new 100% backyard compostable packaging for its entire line of USDA certified organic teas.

100% COMPOSTABLE PACKAGING BEGINS APRIL 22
Arbor Teas will start delivering its full line of organic teas in new 100% backyard compostable packaging beginning this Earth Day, April 22, 2010! With the release of this next generation packaging, Arbor Teas will continue to lead the tea industry through its staunch commitment to environmental business practices, becoming the first tea company to package its entire tea catalogue in this exciting new material. With the launch of the new packaging, Arbor Teas’ customers will be able to compost their tea leaves and tea packaging together in their home composting system!

ABOUT THE NEW COMPOSTABLE PACKAGING
The new packaging is composed of a cellulose film made from wood pulp sourced from sustainably-managed trees. Most compostable packaging available in today’s marketplace is only truly compostable in industrial settings optimized for rapid breakdown. By contrast, the films used for Arbor Teas’ new packaging are backyard compostable. Because of greater variation in moisture and temperature, backyard composting environments have historically been incapable of breaking down so-called “compostable” packaging materials. However, the material chosen for Arbor Teas’ new packages requires a less optimized environment for biodegradation, representing a major advancement in low-impact packaging. The film is certified to both the European (EN13432) and American (ASTM D6400) standards for compostable packaging, and has been submitted to an additional independent test protocol (Miti Test ISO14851) confirming its biodegradation at ambient temperatures and in aqueous environments, relevant for home composting in bins or compost heaps.

Not only are the new packages compostable, but they’re also lighter than their predecessors, reducing the weight of Arbor Teas’ packaging by 60%! This translates to a meaningful reduction in the carbon footprint of the Arbor Teas operation. And, in response to customer requests, the new packaging accommodates more tea than before. On average, Arbor Teas packages contain 28% more tea. The result: MORE TEA, LESS PACKAGING! Previously, Arbor Teas packed its teas in a recyclable, parchment-lined paperboard canister and in a biodegradable kraft bag.
NEW LOGO AND SLOGAN LAUNCH with PACKAGING CHANGE – organic to a tea™
The launch of Arbor Teas’ new packaging offers the perfect opportunity to reveal the company’s new look! Designed by the Ann Arbor-based design company, Pryor Design, Arbor Teas is thrilled to unveil its new logo (see above), new slogan (“organic to a tea™”), as well as an updated look on its online store, www.arborteas.com. All of these will be released with the new packaging on April 22.

ABOUT ARBOR TEAS
Arbor Teas is a limited liability company formed by husband and wife tea enthusiasts (and Ann Arbor locals) Jeremy and Aubrey Lopatin in April 2004. Arbor Teas’ daily mission is to find the world’s most fantastic organic teas and deliver them to their customers as sustainably as possible. From its exceptional collection of organic and Fair Trade Certified® teas, to its Carbonfree® business practices, to its new 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.” Arbor Teas sells its organic teas nationwide through its online store, and offers free delivery to its customers in the City of Ann Arbor. Arbor Teas supplies tea to such local establishments as eve: THE RESTAURANT, Pacific Rim, and the Coffee House Creamery. Arbor Teas is a member of the Specialty Tea Institute.

COMMERCE WITH A CONSCIENCE
Arbor Teas is an official licensee of TransFair USA, enabling it to retail Fair Trade Certified™ teas. TransFair USA, a non-profit agency, is the only organization providing independent, third-party certification of Fair Trade products in the US. TransFair promotes mutually-beneficial relationships between farmers and tea companies, and educates consumers about international trade and economic development. Through regular visits to Fair Trade farmer cooperatives, and partnerships with participating tea companies in the US, TransFair guarantees that globally-accepted fair labor and sustainability practices have been observed in the production of Fair Trade Certified™ products. By monitoring trade from crop to cup, TransFair guarantees that Fair Trade Certified™ products were grown and traded responsibly.

WHAT EXACTLY IS TEA?
The word “tea” is commonly used in reference to almost any botanical ingredient infused in hot water, and with the continued popularity of herbal infusions (such as chamomile, peppermint, rooibos, yerba mate, etc.) in today’s marketplace, a whole gamut of brews are now referred to as such. Technically speaking, however, only those beverages derived from the plant Camellia sinensis should be called “tea.” To distinguish them from true teas, herbal infusions are referred to as tisanes (pronounced TEE-san). Camellia sinensis is an evergreen shrub indigenous to Southeast Asia that thrives in subtropic and highland tropic regions. The leaves and buds of Camellia sinensis are harvested and processed in various fashions to produce the range of tea varieties available today (such as black, oolong, green, white, and pu-erh).
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Contact Information
Jeremy and Aubrey Lopatin
Arbor Teas
PO Box 7122
Ann Arbor, MI 48107
734-994-7698
info@arborteas.com