Innovation

Storehouse Tea helps to provide decent work both overseas and closer to home: the company purchases Fair Trade certified ingredients and employs local refugees in blending and packaging the teas.

Fair Trade certified producers must meet rigorous social, environmental, and economic standards. The certification helps to ensure that suppliers are treating their employers well, including paying fair wages and providing safe working conditions. Most tea pickers in the major tea-producing countries (India, China) are women, many of whom receive extremely low pay. Improving wages and working conditions in this industry offers a significant opportunity to improve the lives of workers, particularly women. Since overseas suppliers would be difficult to monitor directly, Fair Trade certification offers an important check in making sure that Storehouse Tea’s positive impact is consistent throughout its supply chain. Ms. Hershman noted, “It wouldn’t feel right to me to not have an ethical business from start to finish.”

Ms. Hershman has wanted Storehouse Tea to be instrumental in employing refugees from the very beginning. Part of her motivation for moving the company from Bainbridge to its current location in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood was to be more accessible to the city’s refugee communities. Working with US Together, an Ohio-based resettlement agency, Ms. Hershman has successfully employed several refugee women in blending and packaging the teas. “It’s just because that’s what I want to do—hire people that need the help. With our business it totally fits, as an international business with ingredients from all around the world. I think people need to understand the connection; it’s a business model that comes full circle.”

Inspiration

Founder Paula Hershman knew from the beginning that she wanted to build a company that would have a positive social impact. “I really believe that if you set out to do something good and right, the money will come,” she said. A self-described coffee addict, she was at a loss when the doctor told her to stop drinking coffee for health reasons. Then a friend introduced her to loose-leaf teas, she was amazed at the difference in how she felt. Recognizing a potential business opportunity, Ms. Hershman threw herself into researching teas and began to host tea parties, inviting friends to try various loose-leaf brews. She gradually shifted from buying bulk teas from manufacturers to creating her own custom blends. After operating out of a community church kitchen in Bainbridge, Ohio, for several years, in 2015 the company had grown to the point where she moved into Cleveland’s historic Hildebrandt Building, a hub for local artists and food entrepreneurs. From its new headquarters, Storehouse Tea produces teas for clients including local cafes, Whole Foods, specialty stores, and individuals.

Overall impact

Although it started small, Storehouse Tea is already making a difference in the lives of its employees. Most had few prospects of finding a good job, especially given the challenges in language and transportation. The company’s positive mission and the high quality of its products clearly resonate with its customers, as shown through its initial success. Ms. Hershman believes that future growth will only improve the company’s ability to impact society and the environment for the better. This desire to give back to the local community is foundational to her motivation for leading the company. “People just need to help people,” she said. “That’s it, that’s the bottom line.”

Business benefit

Customers are beginning to expect businesses to contribute to their communities and are willing to support the efforts of those that are making a difference. Since its founding in 2007, Storehouse Tea has expanded from a small, home-run operation to a thriving business in a redeveloping urban neighborhood. Its artisanal tea blends appear in many local shops, and demand continues to grow.

Social and environmental benefit

Refugees face additional challenges in finding decent work, such as language barriers, lack of transportation, and unfamiliarity with local recruiting practices. By focusing on hiring refugees, Storehouse Tea is helping to improve access to good employment opportunities for an especially vulnerable group. In addition, its purchases of Fair Trade certified ingredients support other suppliers in improving working conditions overseas.

In terms of its environmental impact, Storehouse Tea focuses on sourcing organic ingredients, including herbs such as peppermint or chamomile. Not only are such crops grown using more environmentally friendly farming methods, but they also offer the potential to create a healthier end product.

Interview

Paula Hershman, Founder