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Greetings!
Happy May Day! Remember it's also almost Mother's Day. We've been thinking about how Honest Tea would not have been possible without our lovely mothers, Merle and Marcia. They're caring, accomplished, passionate and more than just a tad sweet. So, to all the moms out there -- enjoy your special day with a cold organic Honest Tea, Honest Ade or Honest Mate. In the meantime, scroll down to read about our upcoming events, newsy tidbits, and even an upside down giveaway.
Honestly Yours,
Seth & Barry
Our moms
P.S. Looking for a socially-responsible gift for Mom? Consider a Fair Trade bouquet, organic fruit-of-the month club subscription or even a donation in her honor to the Calvert Foundation. They'll send her a lovely card with a female microentrepreneur's success story that lets her know what a thoughtful person she's raised!
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SETH TO BE GUEST HOST AT MARYLAND FILM FESTIVAL
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As part of the Maryland Film Festival's Guest Host Program, Seth Goldman (our TeaEO) will present a selection of short works from Ray Farkas - an award-winning news producer and cinematographer who worked with the likes of Steve Kroft and Meredith Viera. "Off Center News: The Work of Cinematographer/Producer Ray Farkas" is a tribute to Seth's father-in-law, who passed away last year after winning a long battle with Parkinson's disease and then losing a shorter fight with colon cancer. The screening will feature a variety of Ray's influential and eclectic segments, including a tribute to people who dream of becoming country music stars, an essay on cheap wine, and a "musical comedy" involving Ray's own brain surgery. Through his work, Ray Farkas distilled the challenge facing every documentary filmmaker: how to honestly capture a story in a cogent and visually engaging way. The screening will be held at University of Baltimore on May 8 at 4:00 p.m. and Seth would love to see you there. Click here for information about the screening or to buy tickets. We're also giving away tickets, so if you are able to be in Baltimore on 4/8* and would like to attend, email your name, address and telephone number to privacy@honesttea.com to be entered in a drawing. We'll select two winners (from eligible entries) to each win a pair of tickets and other 2009 film fest goodies.
*Ability to be in Baltimore, MD on 4/8 AND attend the 4:30 p.m. EST screening at UB is necessary for an eligible entry.
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A SIP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
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At Honest Tea, we're committed to the well-being of folks along the value chain. We seek out suppliers who practice sustainable farming and respect for individual workers and their families. In 2003, we became the first company in the U.S. to introduce a Fair Trade bottled tea: our Peach Oo-la-long. This month, we're celebrating World Fair Trade Day by introducing a new variety pack of three of our best-selling Fair Trade varieties: Pomegranate Red, Jasmine Green Energy, and Peach Oo-la-long. When you buy a Fair Trade variety pack we'll donate $0.25 from the sale to a "green" organization of your choice. Pick up a variety pack at your local retailer and then visit honesttea.com/asip and help us decide how to distribute the donations - either to EarthShare, Sierra Club, Environmental Leadership Program, Green America or Bethesda Green. It may be a small amount, but it's a sip in the right direction. |
HONEST KIDS SUMMER SIPPIN'
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Imagine you're sitting on the porch on a hot summer afternoon. Your mom hands you a nice cold Honest Kids organic drink pouch. You clutch the cool pouch in your hands, remove the straw and then realize... you have no idea where to put the straw! This scenario may sound far-fetched, but we hear it a lot - people ask, "how do I insert the straw in the Honest Kids pouch?" Since there isn't an "insert straw here" message, the pouches have baffled people of all ages. Right now, we're working on new pouches that will have clearer directions. Until then, here are three fun ways to insert the straw:
- The right way: Grab the middle of the pouch and squeeze so the silver well at the top of the pouch (behind the "Honest Kids" name) opens up. The straw can be inserted anywhere in that silver well with a quick jab of the pointy end of the straw. Make sure you stop squeezing before inserting the straw, otherwise a geyser-effect is possible (you know, physics and pressure and whatnot).
- The wacky way: Allison D. from Austin, TX suggested turning the pouch upside down and poking the straw through the bottom.
- The "cool" way: Rachel R. from Minneapolis, MN freezes her Honest Kids drink pouches "...just cut off the top and you've got an instant organic slushy!"
BTW: Make sure to vote for your favorite name for our new Honest Kids apple flavor. Ten finalists submitted a-peelin' names like "Amazingly Awesome Apple" and "Appley Ever After" and they need your support! Click here to vote now. Note: We'll take your votes into consideration when we select the winner.
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SIERRA CLUB REMINDER
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Ready to explore the great outdoors? Click here to enter to WIN one of four outdoor adventures for two from Sierra Club Outings with round trip airfare and a year's supply of Honest Tea or Honest Ade (all on us)! Trips are available for all ages, abilities, and interests - from whitewater rafting in Colorado to backpacking through Tahoe National Forest. As we mentioned in our last newsletter, we just kicked off our year-long partnership with Sierra Club, America's oldest grassroots environmental non-profit. We're proud to support their efforts to preserve and protect the planet. Look for the Sierra Club logo on bottles of these refreshing organic green tea varieties: Moroccan Mint, Green Dragon, Honey Green and Mango Green Tea.
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FROM GREEN TEA TO GREEN ENERGY: FORMER HT INTERN CHRISTINE MIKELL
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Ever since we hired our first Net Impact interns when we launched the company in 1998, we have hired more than 20 MBA summer interns. Starting with Beth and Danielle who helped set up the Honest Tea office in 1998, our interns have played important roles in the company's evolution and many went on to become rising leaders in the non-profit and for-profit worlds. We're also proud of those interns who have stayed on with us and now hold senior positions at Honest Tea. To see who they are and what they're up to, check out Seth's INC blog post Promoting from Within.
See those tiny people on the wind turbine? Christine is the third from the left.
One special intern was Christine Mikell, who worked in 2000 as an intern at our headquarters in Bethesda. Christine joined Net Impact at University of Utah and was drawn to Honest Tea because of her interest in sustainability and mission-driven businesses. At Honest Tea, Christine conducted market research, visited retailers to get Honest Tea on more shelves, traveled to trade shows in Chicago and San Francisco, and even brewed the first batches of Moroccan Mint when it went organic. Christine now works as a senior project developer for Wasatch Wind, and helped bring the first wind farm in Utah to fruition last summer. Her efforts are helping pave the way toward a more sustainable future, by decreasing dependence on fossil fuels and reducing the amount of carbon dioxide released into the air. In a recent e-mail to Seth, Christine said she plans to spread the sustainability lessons she learned while interning with Honest Tea to Wasatch Wind.
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MOVE OVER GODZILLA, HERE COMES HONEST TEA ... TAKIN' OVER NYC
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Ok, so we're not a giant monster ravaging the city... we're just a growing beverage brand excited to be hitting even more shelves in NYC. Look for bottles of Honest Tea and Honest Ade at Pax Europa, Duane Reade and via Freshdirect.com. At Pax Europa Cafés, Honest Tea pairs perfectly with one of their specially-made salads or delicious breakfast sandwiches. FreshDirect delivers Honest Tea and other groceries right to your doorstep. New Yorkers are getting more Honest - from delis and drugstores to their very own doorsteps, Honest Tea is committed to keeping NYC healthy and hydrated. It's all part of our BIG presence in the Big Apple.
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A LAKE IN YOUR COFFEE MUG?
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How much water does it take to make a cup of coffee? A lot more than you pour into the coffeemaker. Actually, 1,120 liters of water are needed to produce just one liter of coffee, when you include growing the beans, packaging, and so on. That's nearly ten times the amount of water needed produce one liter of tea. Bottled tea is a bit "thirstier," but still requires nowhere near the amount of water needed to produce coffee. Check out the full Economist article, "Thirsty Work," to find out how much H2O is required to make some of your other favorite things like shoes, hamburgers and microchips.
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MACGYVER MEETS AL GORE: MOBILE RECYCLING AT COACHELLA
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The Honest Bottle Brigade, a mobile recycling initiative, invaded the grounds of Coachella Arts and Music Festival in Indio, CA. Wearing creative recycling "shirts" and "skirts," Honest Tea employees and enthusiasts collected plastic bottles in an effort to keep the festival grounds clean and eco-friendly. The brigade used needlenose pliers to squeeze, bend and pinch chain links to create the skeleton of the shirts and skirts. They loosely attached recyclable plastic zip ties to the chain links, leaving plenty of room to tighten each zip tie to a bottle neck. The Honest Bottle Brigade collected and recycled about 200 plastic bottles during the festival. Check out this YouTube clip to see a recap of our presence at the festival.
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HOW ARE YOU LIVING?
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Want to incorporate a little more 'green' into your everyday routine? Look no further than your local deli, grocery store or convenience store for the Honest Tea Sustainability Tour. When the tour makes a stop in your area, you'll be able to sample our refreshing lines of organic iced teas and thirst quenchers, chat with one of our sustainability experts and enter to win some great eco-friendly prizes. Our experts will discuss how eating and drinking organic products can limit the amount of pesticides that end up in your meal. They'll fill you in on what Fair Trade Certified means, why switching to CFL lightbulbs saves energy and money, and how to reduce your carbon footprint by biking rather than driving to work. To find out when the tour is stopping in your town, click here.
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CONSUMER OF THE MONTH
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Almost from the day Honest Tea began selling organic bottled tea, enthusiastic consumers have been sharing their experiences with us - and we love it! Your letters, postcards, phone calls and e-mails make us smile (most of the time!). This month's winner is... Gabrielle, an 11-year-old from Marietta, Georgia, who LOVES Honest KIDS, especially Berry Berry Good Lemonade.
Gabrielle first became a fan when she tried Honest Kids on a trip to Washington, D.C. After she got back home to Georgia, she and her parents scoured stores for weeks in search of a local Honest KIDS retailer. "It was a very big moment when we saw all the boxes of Honest Kids shining down on us on a trip to Costco earlier this year! We have been back many times since, always managing to recruit several new customers each visit," said Gabrielle's dad Jerry. As you can see from this photo that her dad posted on Facebook, Gabrielle is crazy about our organic drink pouches. She also loves to help save the environment, which is why she signed her school up for TerraCycle's Drink Pouch Brigade. So far, Gabrielle has collected nearly 200 pouches.
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DID I REALLY JUST SEE THAT?
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A few months ago, we accidentally made a small number of Honest Tea bottles with upside down labels. We caught our mistake before the whole batch was distributed, but a few bottles made it to stores. Now we're turning lemons into lemonade and making it a contest. If you bought one of these bottles, congratulations! Just take a picture of yourself with the bottle and e-mail it to us at sethandbarry@honesttea.com. We'll send you an Honest Tea hat and a case of Honest Tea (with labels right side up).
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UPCOMING ACTION!
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See our Honest Sampling Tea-m in action across the country at these exciting events:
New England
5/2: MS Walk (Cohasset Town Hall, 41 Highland Ave, Cohasset, MA) 9-2pm
5/3: Walk for Babies, Martin's Point Healthcare (891 Washington Ave, Portland, ME) 9-3pm
NYC
5/9: World Fair Trade Day (Battery Park) All Day
5/12: NYU Grad Alley (NYU Graduation Hall) 5pm
Mid Atlantic
5/8-5/11: MD Film Festival (University of Baltimore) All Day
5/15: Bethesda's Bike to Work Day (Corner of Bethesda and Woodmont Aves) 6-10am
5/17: Nationals Home Game (Nationals Park, 1500 S Capital St, Washington, DC 20003) 11-1pm
PacNW
5/9: Relay for Life for American Cancer Society (Husky Stadium Seattle, WA) 2-8pm
5/15-5/16: Seattle International Children's Festival (305 Harrison St) All Day
NorCal
5/17: Bay to Breakers 12k (San Francisco, CA) All Day
5/22-5/23: Jazz Jubilee (Sacramento, CA) All Day
SoCal
5/2: Comedian Will 'King of Clay' Ferrell Takes on Swedish World Tennis Champ (UCLA Tennis Center 555 Westwood Plaza) 3:30-9:30pm
5/7: HOPE Launch Party @ Fred Segal (l500 Broadway Santa Monica, CA 90401) 5-10pm
AZ
5/2: Tucson Heart Walk (Reid Park, 1100 S Randolph Way) 6-10am
5/4: Arizona Cardinals Celebrity Gold Classic (Whirlwind gold Course at Wild Horse Pass, 5692 West North Loop Road, Chandler, AZ 85226) All Day
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SPREADING THE WORD
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We're not a secret anymore. Media from across the country are discovering Honest Tea and we couldn't be happier about it! Here are a few of our most recent mentions, but be sure visit our Press Page to get all the info.
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That's it 'til next time. If there's anything you'd like to know about Honest Tea, drop us an e-mail and we'll try to address it in an upcoming newsletter. Thanks for reading, and for drinking Honest Tea!
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