Organic beverage company's new yerba mate report

organic loose tea Mate, new organic beverages from Guayaki Sustainable RainforestProducts (www.guayaki.com), subtract more carbon that they emitduring the entire process from the harvesting in the rainforests ofSouth America all the way to the store shelf in the U.S. This unique carbon subtracting status is achieved primarily due tothe vast carbon sequestration that occurs in the vibrant SouthAmerican rainforest where Guayaki's organic yerba mate issustainably harvested under the canopy of towering hardwood trees.Each 16-ounce package of organic, shade-grown and fairly-traded SanMateo Loose Yerba Mate and Traditional Loose Yerba Mate leads tosubtraction of 573 grams of carbon. The assessment was performed byConscious Brands" (www.consciousbrands.com), in accordance with theCarbonLabels.org standard. Conscious Brands" determined that thegrowing of the Guayaki Yerba Mate in the natural rainforest absorbs875g, while the carbon emissions from the processing andtransportation of the products are much less: 220g for processing,11g for packaging and 71g for transportation. CarbonLabels.org is an initiative by the Carbon Labeling Institute(www.carbonlabelinstitute.org), a Canadian not-for-profit thathouses the North American publicly-available carbon label standardfor the organic food industry. The beautiful new packaging for boththe San Mateo and Traditional Loose Yerba Mate proudly features thecarbon label, which highlights the overall score of the product andthe breakdown in the categories of growing, processing, packagingand moving. While the carbon label concept is relatively new toNorth America, it has been established in Europe for the past year.The North American standard was inspired by the Carbon Trust and itfollows similar protocol. 'When an organization makes thecommitment to lowering their environmental footprint, we find thebiggest reductions can be made by looking at the completelife-cycle of their product,' says Rob Sinclair, the founder andSustainability Strategist for Conscious Brands". 'By displaying acarbon label on your packaging, it is a message to the end consumerthat _this organization' is proactive in addressing environmentalconcerns and actively looking at ways to reducing their impact,'adds Sinclair. In 1997, Guayaki was founded on the belief that the rainforest ismore valuable when it is left standing, and over the past decadethe company has been gathering a wealth of scientific data toquantify the economic and environmental benefits of a thrivingrainforest. 'We have always known that our yerba mate projects havea profound effect toward protection and restoration of therainforest and that the health of the rainforest plays a key rolein global climate change, but it has been a challenge to quantify,'says Chris Mann, CEO of Guayaki. 'The results of the assessment andcertification for the San Mateo and Traditional Loose Yerba Mateproducts have been truly amazing and our employees are proud to beat the forefront of the carbon subtraction movement,' adds Mann. Guayaki Yerba Mate is a Nourishing, Green Source of Energy Guayaki Yerba Mate is a healthy coffee, tea and energy drinkalternative that is one of the hottest drink trends in NorthAmerica. Millions of people drink mate every day and celebrate theflavor, energy and nutrients it offers. A nourishing, green sourceof energy, rainforest yerba mate delivers a unique trio ofstimulants: Caffeine, Theobromine, and Theophylline; as well as 24vitamins and minerals, 15 amino acids, and more antioxidants thanhighly-touted Green tea. Unlike other functional and energy drinkconcoctions on the market today that feature synthetic and isolateingredients, Guayaki follows a 'whole plant - whole health' herbaltradition that unleashes the natural form of these nutrients in away that the body can easily absorb and process them. Rainforestgrown yerba mate is known for its adaptogen-like properties, whichincludes an increase in the body's resistance to the debilitatingeffects of stress. Robust Sales of Guayaki Yerba Mate is a Strong Incentive forSustainable Land Use in the Rainforest Guayaki began as an ambitious college class project a decade ago.Alex Pryor and David Karr, founders of Guayaki, started a _green'beverage revolution by bringing a cultural South Americanrainforest drink to the U.S. and creating innovative styles thatsuit the tastes preferred by Americans. These social entrepreneurs'success growing the marketplace for organic yerba mate on thiscontinent has created economic opportunities that empowerindigenous communities to protect the rainforest and their way oflife. The Guayaki co-founders call this award-winning method ofresource protection supported by consumers of sustainable productsMarket-Driven Restoration". 'Our goal was to create consumer demandfor healthy rainforest products that can be grown sustainably andprofitably in the natural rainforest, thereby providing nativepeople with an alternative to destructive land use practices,'states co-founder David Karr. Vast acres of rainforest are beingwiped out for cattle grazing, huge soy plantations and timberharvesting. Not only does Guayaki create a strong incentive forpeople to leave the forest standing, the company also has severalprojects underway to replant native tree species in deforestedareas. Guayaki pays small family farms in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay afair trade price that is more than twice the market rate for theiryerba mate. In these regions, Guayaki's forest-grown mate providesmore income per acre than cattle grazing and commodity agriculturalproducts. 'There is no doubt that paying a fair, premium pricecreates an incentive for farmers to focus on organic quality and tocontinue on with sustainable land use that nurtures therainforest,' notes Karr. 'Its also rewarding to see how sales ofGuayaki products support reforestation, upgrades to housing andschools, and improved medical care,' says Karr. Founded in 1997, Guayak