Transparency and Sustainability

Transparency and Sustainability

Sustainability has become an ever-growing trend over the last few years and as consumerism shifts to greater health and eco-awareness, transparent sustainability practices are key. The recent Product Of Origin and GI certification awarded to rooibos ensures our customers that all our rooibos are sourced from certified suppliers and furthermore grown environmentally just and sustainably. We have a short supply chain as we supply rooibos direct from the farm and follow non-GMO practices with as little as possible processing.

Rooibos is a natural plant well known for its proven nutritional health benefits. We produce rooibos products and blends that are as natural as possible with little or no additives or preservatives. Sugar is added in the form of the stevia leaf and kept to a minimum. We offer a range of functional rooibos tea blends that address very specific health concerns effectively, i.e. stress, flu, menopause etc. Ongoing research ensures we incorporate the latest trends and technology and offer an innovative and diverse range of products to meet our varied customer needs.

Our products are produced according to international food safety regulations. We have several certifications and accreditations such as Organic (USDA, JAS and EOS), Vegan, Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance, Kosher and Halaal and we get audited by these certification bodies on a regular basis. Our entire process is BRC Global Standard certified giving our brand an internationally recognised mark of food quality, safety and responsibility.

The Organic agriculture certifications guarantee:

1. climate and environment protection
2. conservation of soil fertility
3. preservation of biodiversity
4. respect of natural cycles and animal welfare
5. absence of use of chemical and synthetic products,
6. absence of GMO
7. transparent labelling for consumers

On each pack of Carmién Rooibos tea, you will also find our Goodness seals communicating our commitment to our clients. We are in a continual process of ensuring eco-friendly and informative packaging to meet evolving clean label consumer demand:

1. All packs have a full list of ingredients and nutritional information with disclaimer notices regarding usage to safeguard our customers
2. Full preparation instructions to show customers the best and new ways to enjoy our teas/products.
3. All pillow teabags have been replaced with Bioweb, a plastic-free, compostable material and our pyramid teabags are made of PLA compostable material.
4. All recyclable outer packaging is now FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified. This means that for every tree used to provide paper, a new one will be planted.
5. Printing inks comply with environmental protection and consist of materials that are derived from renewable raw materials.
6. Glues used are non-toxic, non-flammable (wet state) and suitable for indirect food contact.

A happy, healthy, educated community is a productive community. In conjunction with the Mouton Foundation and Bergendal, we run ongoing projects to support communities working and living on our various farms ranging from childcare and education to health and nutrition, training and elderly care.

Carmién Tea is renowned for not only being a marketer of rooibos, but also one of the only brands that are producer, processor and marketer. This enables us to fully commit to job creation and improving the lives of our farmworkers. Our exclusive packing facility, Bergendal Rooibos, is 50% owned by farmworkers and more than 600 farm worker shareholders and their family members are direct beneficiaries of our rooibos sales.