Company Name Suki Tea Makers
Contact Person Annie Irwin
Industry Sector Loose Leaf Tea
Tell us in two sentences about your company, products or services
Suki Teamakers is an award – winning brand , currently in its 19th year. We provide customers with the finest loose leaf teas, herbal infusions and fruit blends from around the world. Ethically sourcing is our priority. We are committed to Fairtrade practices, a Great Taste producer, Real Living Wage employer and members of the Responsible Business Network.
Today, Annie and Oscar still lead our team, and we keep winning award after award for both product and company, because we’re still focused on that same job – sourcing and blending the world’s best tea.
Why did you decide to join RPM Program?
We always knew we wanted to do things the right way. With the support of the RPM we were able to gain the knowledge and skills needed to develop a stronger responsible plastic management culture within the Suki team and to carry through to our families and friends outside of the workplace. As a socially responsible business we can carry our key plastic- free message to our customers and our suppliers and make a bigger influence through sharing key messages and education we have gained through the programme.
What developments have you made in your responsible plastic management journey?
We have conducted an action plan, and have made huge strides to reduce, reuse and recycle our plastics. We pride ourselves in knowledge sharing within friends and family. We had the pleasure of having plastic management coaching on site last year which encouraged us as a company to become more Plastic Conscious and make the relevant changes to become even more plastic responsible. This included awareness of what we currently do, how to put realistic targets in place, keeping track of our performance and our commitment to a Continuous Improvement Cycle.
What are your 2024 Plastic Free July goals?
At the end of the year we have a rebrand, with this comes a huge opportunity to improve our packaging and our educational message to customers. Our packaging is currently plastic-free, however our labels contain an amount of plastic. We have the potential to go further and create a new label. With a new backing label, we can eliminate any plastic materials. The back of pack is a by-product and we hope to eliminate usage or any composite materials by 80%.
We conducted a research study recently on the end of life use of our packaging through trade partners and our customer base. We have now collated the data and discovered what happens at the end of life of the product and how we can contribute further to the Circular Economy and better disposal of packaging. Members of the Team have undergone plastic-literacy training, which has had a very positive influence on our decision making, especially as we invest in new products for the rebrand. We hope to have more staff take part in any plastic – literacy training available.
We will continue to manage our single-use plastics in order to improve our circularity and environmental impact.
See link for more information about Suki Teamakers products: https://suki-tea.com/