A new report from first teathe largest importer of Chinese tea in the US, notes that most professionals in the tea and related industries undervalue sustainability in tea stockpiling — even with 80% of this group are concerned about the impact of climate change about business operations. First Tea Sustainability Perspectives 2022 is the first study to assess perceptions of tea sustainability among industry professionals.
“This finding surprises me. We hear so much from our customers about the importance of sustainability. I look forward to better investigating what lies behind this potential disconnect between customer concerns about sustainability and corporate purchasing priorities,” said Jason Walker, First Tea’s director of marketing. Respondents cited flavor (96%), leaf quality (90%) and provenance/terroir (88%) as the top three characteristics that contributed to their decision to stock certain teas. These considerations are followed by demand (86%), supply consistency (84%) and price (83%). Sustainability (79%) comes seventh in the list of factors influencing tea-stocking decisions.
Sean Cash, PhD, Bergstrom Foundation Professor of Global Nutrition at Tufts University’s Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, says: “The results of this compelling survey show that representatives of the tea industry are acutely aware that their sector is being impacted by climate is threatened, and to a greater extent than many other crops. This clearly underscores the urgent need for collaborations that will help protect and support the future of tea for years to come.” Cash is Co-Principal Investigator at Tea & Climate Change Collaborative, an interdisciplinary and multi-institutional project team investigating the impact of climate change on tea quality and socio-economic…
