What does it mean to be locally made? How can a small business support its local community?
For us it means that we live where we work, here in the UK. We were founded in London, keep our address pinned to W10, and connect with our biggest partners here. Don’t believe us? Check out our Stockist Spotlight (here on the web and on our social media #stockistspotlight), where we shine the light on other London local legends.
We focus on our community by taking the steps to become a certified B Corp*, by supporting UK manufacturing, sourcing from UK suppliers, hiring with the UK governments KickStart scheme, and investing in research and development at home, to raise the bar for the UK’s fledgling CBD community, as part of the new Food Standards Agency Novel Foods legislation.
It doesn’t hurt that this helps keep our transportation carbon footprint much lower than if we were flying in all sorts.
Without giving too much away, let’s take a look at just 2 of the stories that comprise our UK bouquet:
- Believe it or not, fresh Shiso Tea leaves are grown in the UK and available all year round from our trusted suppliers in the Midlands and East Anglia. So fresh in fact that we must brew within days of harvesting!
- As always our juices come from a UK supplier with over 100 years of history in the business, and we’re proud to feature Rhubarb in particular which includes some juice from forced rhubarb plants of the Timperley variety, from the world capital of rhubarb – Yorkshire!
*And what, exactly, is a B Corp?
According to the B Corp itself – Certified B Corps are “businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose”. This means that we have a clause built in to our foundational legal documents that states:
The objects of the Company are to promote the success of the Company;
The ‘Legal Requirement’ for a B Corp in the UK
(i) for the benefit of its members as a whole; and
(ii) through its business and operations, to have a material positive impact on (a) society and (b) the environment, taken as a whole.
Or, in other words that our community and our environment matter as much as our investors – we care for all of our stakeholders, as well as our shareholders.
We are also critically evaluated on our environmental reporting, our community initiatives, our corporate oversight and our continuous attention to our internal policies. As part of this process, we have strengthened our commitment to charitable giving as a fundamental part of our profit-model.
