Teekampagne (which has its headquarters in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

, Germany, and can roughly be translated into English as 'Tea Campaign') is the largest mail order tea business in Germany and the world's largest importer of

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal, ...

loose leaf tea. Teekampagne runs a traceability program allowing to follow each single package to the tea garden where it comes from. This includes also documents of sampling, analysis,

EGCG Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), also known as epigallocatechin-3-gallate, is the ester of epigallocatechin and gallic acid, and is a type of catechin. EGCG – the most abundant catechin in tea – is a polyphenol under basic research for its ...

, certificate of origin and cargo inspections. Teekampagne was founded in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

in 1985 by Günter Faltin, entrepreneur and professor of entrepreneurship at the

Freie Universität Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public research university in Berlin, Germany. It is consistently ranked among Germany's best universities, with particular strengths in political science and t ...

. The company's business model saves costs on storage, transportation and packaging: it imports directly from India, limits itself to one product (Darjeeling tea), trades only organic teas, subjects that product to stringent tests for quality, and sells in large packages. Teekampagne runs a

reforestation Reforestation (occasionally, reafforestation) is the natural or intentional restocking of existing forests and woodlands (forestation) that have been depleted, usually through deforestation, but also after clearcutting. Management A debate ...

plan in Darjeeling in cooperation with the WWF. The plan is funded solely by the Teekampagne, but the project is implemented by the

WWF-India World Wide Fund for Nature-India, better known by its abbreviation, WWF-India, has been devotedly working to protect and secure natural heritage and ecology for more than 50 years. It has an autonomous office, with the Secretariat based in New Del ...

. The project is called SERVE and is intended as a long-term commitment. The program, started in 1992, aims to reverse the soil erosion on the steep slopes of Darjeeling by replanting trees in strategic locations. So far an area of 210 hectares has been reforested, 22 tree nurseries have been established and 260.000 seedlings were grown in the last year alone. An educational plan runs along with the reforestation program: 13 local schools are working closely with the WWF project; their activities include nature treks, bird watching, and various exhibitions and workshops. Research activities range from the recycling of plastics to the conservation of endangered bird species. Workshops on medicinal plants teach the local population how to benefit these natural resources. Plans in the near future are to reach an extension of 300 hectares of reforested land in the area of Senchal, which provides the town of

with water. Boston Tea Campaign - Caring for the Region
The Teekampagne does business in Japan as Teeidee, in the United States as Boston Tea Campaign, and in New Zealand as Tea Campaign New Zealand.

References

External links

Teekampagne website
��
Boston Tea Campaign

Tea Campaign New Zealand

Tea Campaign Australia
Tea companies of Germany Food and drink companies established in 1985 Retail companies established in 1985 1985 establishments in Germany de:Teekampagne {{Tea-stub