Go Green - Tea Rooms

Spring Green

info@tea4u.com (Tea 4 U) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 21:39:00 +0000

March is probably the most Green of all months. Spring is here, the first buds have opened, and St. Patrick’s Day brought out all shades of green. How green are you? How is your progress on reducing, reusing, recycling, and rebuying?

REDUCE
__ Now is the time to start your own organic herb garden outside your tea room or in a window sill. If you don’t have much space, you can grow it in containers (e.g. teapots) inside the tea room. It will look fresh and give a wonderful scent when someone touches it. Basil, rosemary, chives, oregano, lemon balm and mint are excellent herbs for micro-gardening and are beautiful edible decorations on your foods.
__ If your space allows it, plant native fruit bushes/trees outside and start a small vegetable garden (tomatoes, bell peppers, zucchinis, etc.) Imagine announcing today’s food served with home-grown produce!
__ Serve a quick fiber-rich appetizer on the house. It will take away the worst hunger and customers get satisfied on less food on the tea platter.

REUSE
__ Do you use tea light candles for your tea warmers? If so, you will have a lot of empty aluminum cups when they are burned out that are just thrown out, right? Collect them and reuse them for individual flower arrangements for special events, e.g. birthday parties. Press the aluminum cup into an oasis block, cut it off and wet it. Fill it with flowers of the season and use for individual ‘centerpieces’ and as give-aways to special customers. They fit perfectly into a teacup!

__ Use fabric napkins instead of paper. A tea room is the perfect place to teach customers to “re-invent” this tradition at home, too. Consider selling nice fabric napkins and reusable napkin rings. If you must use paper napkins, use those made from 100% recycled, unbleached paper.
__ Reward customers who bring their own to-go reusable travel mugs and shopping bags.

RECYCLE
__ Use glass and porcelain containers instead of plastic, plastic bags, Styrofoam, and aluminum. Use recyclable paper products instead of plastic. For take-out containers, use recyclable materials – and never polystyrene foam, “Styrofoam” (doesn’t decompose.) Biodegradable and 100% annually renewable products are e.g. bagasse (waste product from sugar canes) and PLA (biodegradable thermoplastic derived from corn), http://www.biosmartpackaging.com/Biodegradable_Materials.html. Renewable take-out containers may be a huge competitive edge for you. BioSmart surveyed more than 2000 people at a street fair in LA and learned that 62% would be more likely to frequent a business who used earth-friendly materials (9% would less likely, and 29% didn’t care).

REBUY
__ Use cleaning products that are non-toxic and biodegradable. We all know that tea stains are hard to deal with, but a 100% nature friendly product such as “Nature Bright” from Shaklee’s Get Clean series takes off stains from your vintage table cloths, carpets, upholstery, towels and clothes. Even though it is chlorine/phosphate-free and color safe, it actually works wonders. Their “Scour Off” cleans tea stains from your most delicate antique tea cups without damaging cups or nature. If you also use Shaklee’s Get Clean dish wash, laundry and cleaning products you can proudly announce to your customers that you have a 100% Toxic-Free Tea Room! http://www.shaklee.net/pmatlock/product/GetCleanHousehold

RESOURCES
A good book to read: "Green Goes with Everything" by Sloan Barnett, Atria Books

TAKE ACTION! GO GREEN!
Kirsten
http://www.tea4u.com/

February's Steps to "Go Green"

info@tea4u.com (Tea 4 U) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 22:25:00 +0000

It is February and even if it may still be cold, the buds on the bushes are waiting eagerly to turn green. Adopt a bit of this natural energy and take a few steps into your green life.

REDUCE:
__ Set up a process to pay your creditors electronically. (You save postage, envelopes and carbon footprint from mail carriers; you get an instant receipt and may even save late fees if you set the system to autopay.)
__ Have companies email your statements and bills. Even if you have to print out a copy (on recycled paper), you can copy back-to-back (saves paper and space) and save carbon footprint from mail carriers, extra envelopes and avoid the extra promotional glittered papers the company include to make you buy more. If it is a good company these offers will be online as well!

REUSE:
__ Reuse shipping materials from your received goods (or recycle it.) Nice cardboard boxes can be unfolded and stored for later use, or passed on to others who use them. Shipping peanuts can be dropped off to UPS Stores in clear plastic bags for reuse. Consider reusing shipping materials to wrap items sold in your gift store.

RECYCLE:
__ Get a copy of your township’s current recycling program and - together with your staff – make sure you recycle ALL that can be recycled: Clean paper (learn what kind of papers - office papers, magazines, newspapers, junk mail, wrapping paper, bathroom tissue rolls, cereal, tissue, cardboard and shipping boxes?), plastic bottles (which numbers? See more below) cans, tins, aluminum, batteries, metal, appliances, air-conditioners, carpets, etc.

REBUY:
__ Buy bathroom tissues and paper towels in non-bleached/chlorine-free (= toxic free), 100% post-consumer recycled material (means that it has been used some way by consumers already and recycled). Paper towels with half-size perforation to save if it is only a ‘small’ job. For products endorsed by the Green Restaurant Association see here: http://www.dinegreen.com/solutions.asp?

PLASTIC BOTTLES
It may be difficult to know which plastics to recycle and which to trash. Here is an overview that explains what the triangle codes (usually on the bottom) mean. Check with your local township which can be recycled and how.

01 - Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET, PETE)
Soft drink, water and salad dressing bottles; peanut butter and jam jars

02 - High Density Polyethylene (HDPE)
Milk, juice and water bottles; trash and retail bags.

03 - Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)
Juice bottles; cling films; PVC piping

04 - Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE)
Frozen food bags; squeezable bottles, e.g. honey, mustard; cling films; flexible container lids.

05 - Polypropylene (PP)
Reusable microwaveable ware; kitchenware; yogurt containers; margarine tubs; microwaveable disposable take-away containers; disposable cups and plates.

06 - Polystyrene (PS)
Egg cartons; packing peanuts; disposable cups, plates, trays and cutlery; disposable take-away containers;

07 - Other (polycarbonate, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene/ABS, polyamide, acrylic, nylon, polyurethane (PU), phenolics, cellophane, latex, biopolymers)
Beverage bottles; baby milk bottles; electronic casing.

PS (06) is one of the 'bad' plastics. It is made from non-sustainable and heavily polluting petroleum, causes air pollution and health hazards for workers during production, non-biodegradable, in landfils it is damaging to wildlife, may leach toxicity into food - especially when microwaved, harms ozone layer, is not accepted at most recycling places, and is poorly recycled. PS is also known as 'Styrofoam."

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_recycling, Dining Green - A Guide to Creating Environmentally Sustainable Restaurants & Kitchens by Benjamin Nielsen

Tea Rooms: Go Green!

info@tea4u.com (Tea 4 U) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:53:00 +0000

On this blog you will be able to learn how to Go Green in your Tea Room – and how you can turn your “going green” into “gold” = better business for you.

‘Go Green’ seems to be the new buzz word for 2009. Look around in stores, on TV, in magazines, and you will see the recycle sign or ‘Go Green’ logos everywhere. Business owners have realized that it is not any longer an option to ‘go green’ but a must, if you want to keep up with competition. But green comes in many shades - you still have a chance to be on the forefront and turn your tea room into a true Green Tea Room.

The ‘Go Green’ project is divided into four areas: Reduce – Reuse – Recycle – Rebuy. When you manage all areas at a certain level, you will be able to obtain the “Go Green GOLD Certificate,” but more about that later.

Let’s get started – one step at a time:

REDUCE: Think about all you use in your business, paper, water, electricity, food items. The Japanese are known for their ‘less is more” philosophy. Where can you use less, and still make it ‘more’? Sometimes less on a plate looks more tempting if served on a really nice dish. If people don’t eat the decorating grapes on the dish, why put them there in the first place? Make an effort to reduce a little bit every day. Turn off the lights, keep that door closed, don’t let the water run …

REUSE: Do you throw out all shipping materials? Maybe some could be used to wrap items from your gift store? It does not appear ‘cheap’ if you turn it around and make it ‘a green effort’. (See an example of my card below).

RECYCLE: Make January the month where you think about all you throw out. Could it be recycled – or reused by others (thrift stores)? Bottles and cans are a given and mandatory recyclables in most areas, but regulations for cardboard boxes, cereal boxes and other paper items may have changed this year. Check the local regulations and follow through. You will see a lot less waste in your garbage!

REBUY: This means that you think ‘green’ when you buy anything! Are the bath tissues and kitchen towels made from recycled paper? Do you serve organic teas and food? Do you clean with chemical- and toxic-free products? This is an area that you can use as a competitive edge. Imagine a sign on your door: “Welcome to our Green Tearoom. This is a toxic free zone!” We will talk a lot more about this later. Use up what you have, but STOP buying any new cleaning products that contain toxins or chemicals.

Please add your ideas, concerns, and accomplishments in the comments section below.

Think Green!
Kirsten

info@tea4u.com (Tea 4 U) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 21:08:00 +0000

Happy New Year 2009!

This will be our new Go Green - Tea Room blog। We will be back very soon with creative ideas of how to Go Green in your tea business and how to turn Green into Gold while working towards earning the Go Green Gold Certificate!

Think Green!
Kirsten