Our Commitments
Firsd is proud to offer tea from Rainforest Alliance Certified™ farms. Our regard for people and planet is reflected in the ways we treat our farmers as well as the land on which they work.
The Rainforest Alliance supports farmers and the environment in the following ways:
- Promoting sustainable farming methods that augment profits and create improved working conditions
- Educating farmers and defining best practices to increase yields and grow income for farmers
- Protecting land and waterways by establishing tea farms that minimize impact on biodiversity, reduce and eliminate use of harmful pesticides and other agrochemical runoff, treating waste water and implementing restoration practices to prevent erosion and return soil health.
Firsd is also a Fair Trade Certified Trader and offers Fair Trade Certified teas. Fair Trade Certified builds a global model around the concept that economic 
empowerment and sustainable livelihoods are the basis for a market that works for everyone.
Fair Trade works to assure:
- Income sustainability, so that workers and farmers have wages to meet basic household needs
- Empowerment to build local communities of farmers and workers
- Community well-being, including clean water, education and health care
- Environment stewardship to eliminate harmful chemicals and protect natural resources
In addition to our Rainforest Alliance certification, we work closely with the Ethical Tea Partnership to ensure the tea industry is fair and advantageous to all parties involved. We strive to improve the social and environmental conditions for families, communities and businesses with which we partner.
Here are just a few of the Ethical Tea Partnership’s many standards:
- Freedom of employment and right of collective bargaining
- Safe and sanitary workplaces for all employees through training programs, minimizing hazards, provision of protective clothing and machinery, and fire and chemical safety
- Promote the health and welfare of employees and their families
- Mandatory age requirements, with benefits of educational assistance and apprenticeships
- Equal employment and fair wages for all employees as well as standard work week with no involuntary overtime
- All employees are treated with dignity and respect, with written standards to prevent harsh and inhumane treatment
For more information on the Ethical Tea Partnership, http://www.ethicalteapartnership.org/
