Partnerships
Living sustainably has become a conscious decision for many of us in the meantime. At TEEKANNE, we have also consciously opted for sustainability, even if this has always been a fundamental component of our corporate DNA as a long-standing family business. It is of great importance to us to live and breathe sustainability day after day and to align our business activities accordingly. Partnerships are an essential component of this. This is because we firmly believe that a close and long-term relationship with our suppliers is the best way forward to a more sustainable future for us all.
Responsibility starts with the Quality of the Raw Materials
As a quality brand and long-standing successful tea company, our requirements for the raw materials for our teas have always been extremely high. This is because it is clear to us that only the best raw materials guarantee excellent tea creations of a consistently high quality.
And we also know that our raw materials are only of such a high quality because we ensure that our suppliers around the world guarantee optimal cultivation. This is precisely why it is of the utmost importance for us to take responsibility where the foundation for our high-quality raw materials is laid: in the countries of origin.
This means that we have known our suppliers personally for decades and often work together with members of the second generation. We are very proud of our supply chain – which is unparalleled for a tea company – and an important unique selling point is that we source the majority of our raw materials directly. These direct partnerships with our suppliers not only ensure complete transparency, they also enable us to consciously influence the quality of the raw materials in face-to-face discussions and to work together on the continuous improvement of social and environmental standards.
At the Heart of our Unique Supply Chain: Honesty and Respect
TEEKANNE is a family business and so we see ourselves as one big family, which includes not only our employees but also our suppliers. In this context, it is very important to us to maintain an honest, fair and respectful relationship with each other and to establish essential rules that we expect our suppliers to follow. In return, our partners can rely on us at all times and know that we will keep to our agreements.
The TEEKANNE Guidelines
Compliance with social and environmental standards in the production of our raw materials is an obligation for us. Many of our raw materials come from Africa and Asia, where their cultivation represents an important source of income and development opportunity for the people. In this context, it goes without saying that we are aware that working conditions which are taken for granted in Central Europe are not always respected in these regions or that the environment is damaged by some unsustainable agricultural practices. We therefore see it as our duty to counteract this.
We require all our suppliers to make a binding commitment to comply with our social and environmental standards on the basis of a clearly defined Standards and Practices Policy, our “TEEKANNE Code of Conduct”.
The “TEEKANNE Code of Conduct”
However, we do not leave our suppliers to implement the “TEEKANNE Code of Conduct” on their own. Our buyers and cultivation experts help them with their agricultural practices and with bringing their daily activities into line with the required sustainability. Our employees travel to the countries of origin at regular intervals and maintain long-standing relationships with our suppliers.
The TEEKANNE Policy for the Sustainable Purchase of Tea, Herbs and Fruits
Our Sustainability Policy for Tea, Herbs and Fruits serves as an important guideline for our suppliers. It represents our basic strategic focus in the procurement of our raw materials and formulates our short, medium and long-term goals. In this way, we also help our suppliers to adapt to changed or new requirements at an early stage.
TEEKANNE Code of Conduct (German Version)
TEEKANNE Policy for Sustainable Purchase of Tea, Herbs and Fruits (English Version)
