STANDING OUT IN THE CROWD
Last month, we were honored to learn that The Washington Post named Honest Tea as one of the top five standout companies of 2010.  We found ourselves in great company next to General Motors, Good Business International, Executives Without Borders and Starbucks.
 
Excerpt:
While many assume that American businesses are struggling based on the high unemployment rate, the 18-month long Great Recession officially ended in June. The third quarter of 2010 brought higher profits for American businesses than any other quarter in recorded history. In this perplexing year that was good for business but bad for the American worker, we wanted to highlight five business organizations that have not only had good years financially, but have also made efforts to either take care of their employees, the environment or their local communities.

1. Honest Tea

While Honest Tea hit a marketing bonanza in 2009 when President Obama revealed that he was stocking the White House with the brew, it was also going through an internal identity struggle. Coca-Cola had purchased a 40 percent stake in Honest Tea early in 2008, and many felt it was a mismatch. After all, Honest Tea had positioned itself as the healthy alternative to Coke's high-fructosy offerings. But despite major pressure from the world's No. 1 beverage company, Honest Tea has remained true to its roots and rebuffed many of Coke's suggestions. They continue to produce a healthy and tasty drink--but, more importantly, they continue to do it their way, focusing on quality, their people and minimizing their impact on the planet... Read on here. 

 
SHOP SMART
In last month's issue of Consumer Reports, Honest Tea Lemon Black Tea was listed as being the better choice compared to Snapple Lemon Tea.  Consumer Reports compared the sugar content and found that Honest Tea Lemon Black variety contained 52% less sugar than Snapple Lemon Tea. 

Next time you stop by your local Whole Foods Market, check out their new 2011 Whole Planet calendar and get a jump start to planning your year! In addition to enjoying up to$20 in coupon savings, you'll be helping the Whole Planet Foundation empower women entrepreneurs in developing communities abroad with microcredits!  100% of calendar proceeds are donated to the Whole Planet Foundation for microlending programs in communities that supply Whole Foods with tropical fruits, vegetables and spices.  As each microloan recipient supports an average of four people in her household, your purchase of one of the 35,000 calendars for sale will help raise $70,000 for the support of 2,000 impoverished people, all for just $2. This year's calendar features inspiring entrepreneurs from around the globe. The Whole Foods Calendar is just one of the ways Honest Tea supports microenterprise in addition to our Fair Trade purchasing. Seth also serves on the board of the Calvert Foundation, a leading lender to microenterprise around the world. You can learn more here.

The Sustainable Foods Summit, January 18-19 in San Francisco, focuses on the leading issues the food industry faces concerning sustainability and eco-labels, such as organic, fair trade, Rainforest Alliance, etc.
 
Organized by Organic Monitor, the Sustainable Foods Summit brings together key stake-holders in the food industry, including food manufacturers, ingredient & raw material suppliers, retailers & distributors, industry organizations & certification agencies, researchers & academics, investors, etc. This year, Seth will present the opening keynote speech, discussing the challenges of the mission-driven business.
 
Click here to register for the 2-day event!

Honest Tea has tea-med up with Baby Loves Disco, an innovative program for parents and their toddlers.  All across the country, Baby Loves Disco is transforming the hippest night clubs into child-proof discos as toddlers, pre-schoolers and parents looking for a break from the routine play ground cir­cuit let loose for some post nap time, pre-dinner fun. Baby Loves Disco is an afternoon dance party featuring real music spun and mixed by real DJs blending classic disco tunes from the 70s & 80s.
 
The fun permeates all corners of the club: Honest Kids, bubble machines, baskets of scarves and egg-shakers, diaper changing stations (fun for some?), a full spread of healthy snacks and dancing, LOTS of dancing. Baby Loves Disco is a community event that brings kids together with kids and parents together with parents.  Events are still being finalized, so check back here soon!

At Honest Tea, we're passionate about bringing on enthusiastic and energetic people committed to social responsibility. We have openings spanning from Dallas to San Diego to our Bethesda, MD headquarters and positions ranging from the Road Warrior summer internship program to the Vice President of Marketing.
 
If you're ready for an exciting new career in the New Year, check out our job listings here!

Meet Oscar, a U.S. Marine and this month's Honest Tea fan from El Paso, TX! Oscar first came across Honest Tea when he was serving at Quantico in 2002 and has since become a self-proclaimed addict. "I drink Honest Tea because it doesn't have all that corn-syrup junk in it. I got my degree in nutrition, so I really like that Honest Tea is a healthier option," Oscar said.
 
Oscar has been deployed to Iraq twice and his wife would lovingly send care packages full of our plastic-bottled Honest Tea. "You just won't give up on this tea," his wife would always say.
 
Oscar's El Paso grocery store went out of business, so he was no longer able to buy Honest Tea. Now, every time he goes out of town, he loads up on all the Honest he can get his hands on. Last time he was in the DC area, he stuffed 60 lbs of Honest Tea into a suitcase and lugged it with him back to Texas.



Now, that's dedication! We will be sending Oscar a case of his favorite variety, Peach White. Enjoy!

Look for our sampling teams in Costco clubs this month!

NEW YORK
January 6-9, 2011
Manhattan, NY
Brooklyn, NY,
 
January 13-16, 2011
Melville, NY, 
Holbrook, NY
 
January 20-23, 2011
New Rochelle, NY,
Yonkers, NY
 
VIRGINIA
January 6-9, 2011
Sterling, VA   
 
January 20-23, 2011
Leesburg, VA
 
MARYLAND
January 13-16, 2011
Gaithersburg, MD
 
Start the New Year off right! Join Honest Tea at these health and wellness events:
 
SOUTH
January 9, 2011
MADD Dash 5K Resolution Run
Tampa, FL
 
January 15, 2011
Free Yoga in Kennedy Park
Miami, FL
 
January 22, 2011
Gorilla Run
Austin, TX
 
PACNW
January 7, 9, 14 & 21
Metropolitan Market Uptown Health and Wellness Fair
Seattle, WA
 
January 15, 2011
Stinky Spoke Mountain Bike Race
Redmond, WA
 
January 18, 2011, 2pm
Honest Hour: Yoga for a Cause
University of Washington
Seattle, WA
 
January 22, 2011
No Sun Fun Run 5K
Heritage Recreation Center Puyallup, WA
 
NORCAL
January 13-17, 2011
Yoga Journal Conference
San Francisco, CA
 
SOCAL
January 9, 2011
Resolution Run
San Diego, CA
 
January 29, 2011
Lake Hodges 5K
Escondido, CA
 
February 5, 2011
2011 Super Run
San Diego, CA
 
ROCKY MOUNTAIN
January 15, 2011
Chilly Cheeks Duathalon
Denver, CO

Honest Tea is the nation's top-selling organic bottled tea company with a mission to make great-tasting, truly healthy organic beverages sweetened with less sugar and fewer calories than most bottled beverages. Honest Tea's product lines include: Honest Tea ready-to-drink bottled teas in glass and PET #1 bottles, Honest Ade organic thirst quenchers and Honest Kids drink pouches. Honest Tea was recently ranked by The Huffington Post as one of the leading "8 Revolutionary Socially Responsible Companies," and received Greenopia.com's coveted 4-Leaf Rating as "the greenest beverage company" for the second year in a row.

For more information, visit:

Honest Tea Online: www.honesttea.com