The TeaLAB 2%
TeaLAB donates 2% of online sales to causes worth supporting. Have one? Let Us Know.
Updates
January 2017
It's was another amazing year. We will be making another donation soon. The TeaLAB 2% is going to help another good cause, yet to be determined....stay tuned. Thanks for everyone's help in this.
March 2016
Well, it turns out donating a pallet of garbage cans to a tiny island off the coast of paradise is a little more complex than I had previously imagined. And apparently it is not a smart tax move either, so says the accountant. The new goal is to start a non-profit that will provide funds to research the best methods for addressing refuse cycling on small islands. This will not occur this year, but overtime. Stay tuned.
With that being said, we have made our 2016 2% donation to The Ocean Clean Up. You may have heard about the 19 year old that invented a way to use the ocean currents to collect floating debris by stringing out 1000 meter plus nets. Well, his devices have been undergoing testing in the rough North Sea and they are showing great promise. They plan to launch the large scale Clean-Up in 2020. TeaLAB is 100% on board
We apologize to anyone who might feel let down about our initial goal to help clean up the Belize Cayes. We promise that this goal will never leave our horizon. Just like with gardening, our initial vision of the perfect patch may not be the one that grows. No biggie. Just grow with it. Thanks to everyone who has made this possible. We will work even harder this year so that next year your donation makes an even greater impact.
It's was another amazing year. We will be making another donation soon. The TeaLAB 2% is going to help another good cause, yet to be determined....stay tuned. Thanks for everyone's help in this.
March 2016
Well, it turns out donating a pallet of garbage cans to a tiny island off the coast of paradise is a little more complex than I had previously imagined. And apparently it is not a smart tax move either, so says the accountant. The new goal is to start a non-profit that will provide funds to research the best methods for addressing refuse cycling on small islands. This will not occur this year, but overtime. Stay tuned.
With that being said, we have made our 2016 2% donation to The Ocean Clean Up. You may have heard about the 19 year old that invented a way to use the ocean currents to collect floating debris by stringing out 1000 meter plus nets. Well, his devices have been undergoing testing in the rough North Sea and they are showing great promise. They plan to launch the large scale Clean-Up in 2020. TeaLAB is 100% on board
We apologize to anyone who might feel let down about our initial goal to help clean up the Belize Cayes. We promise that this goal will never leave our horizon. Just like with gardening, our initial vision of the perfect patch may not be the one that grows. No biggie. Just grow with it. Thanks to everyone who has made this possible. We will work even harder this year so that next year your donation makes an even greater impact.
Let's clean up the world! Starting 1/1/2015, 2% of every sale goes into a fund used to purchase trash cans that will be sent to the Cayes (pronounced "Keys") off the coast of Belize in Central America. The Cayes are a true white sand beach paradise, home to the second greatest barrier reef in the world. The areas surrounding these barrier islands are both unique and fragile. Though a paradise, trash is rampant in the Cayes. Litter not only floats in on the currents, it also overflows the few under-maintained trash receptacles.
Why Belize? Well, it was on a short trip to visit the Mayan Pyramids in 2012, just before the end of the world, that I stayed a couple of nights on Caye Caulker. The tiny island is such beautiful place, perfect weather, warm clear waters, tropical plant life, and wonderful people. But at closer inspection, I was disappointed to see there was trash everywhere. In the streets and alleyways, blowing in the wind, in the amazing mangrove root networks. This true paradise, plagued by plastic trash, left a major impact on me.
After leaving Belize, I camped on a beach in Tulum, Mexico. It was there that I met another American that designed and stitched heavy duty climbing gear. I told him about the durable brew bags that I wanted made for a gardening project back in the states...and so TeaLAB was born.
I want to give back by helping clean up the trash. I think the simplest way is to make sure that everyone and everywhere that needs a rubbish bin, has one. The goal for 2015 is to get a full pallet of RubberMaid 45 Gallon Trash Cans delivered and distributed. The goal for 2016 will be more cans, and assistance with the island's program for better pick-up and recycling services. The goals for future years would be to develop similar programs in other littered yet beautiful places.
Thanks for being part of something bigger. Check here for progress updates.
~Luke
October 2015
Our sales have outperformed way beyond our expectations. We are very close to having reaching the goal of purchasing a full pallet of heavy duty trash cans. We are now working on figuring out the shipping logistics. Stay tuned!
Why Belize? Well, it was on a short trip to visit the Mayan Pyramids in 2012, just before the end of the world, that I stayed a couple of nights on Caye Caulker. The tiny island is such beautiful place, perfect weather, warm clear waters, tropical plant life, and wonderful people. But at closer inspection, I was disappointed to see there was trash everywhere. In the streets and alleyways, blowing in the wind, in the amazing mangrove root networks. This true paradise, plagued by plastic trash, left a major impact on me.
After leaving Belize, I camped on a beach in Tulum, Mexico. It was there that I met another American that designed and stitched heavy duty climbing gear. I told him about the durable brew bags that I wanted made for a gardening project back in the states...and so TeaLAB was born.
I want to give back by helping clean up the trash. I think the simplest way is to make sure that everyone and everywhere that needs a rubbish bin, has one. The goal for 2015 is to get a full pallet of RubberMaid 45 Gallon Trash Cans delivered and distributed. The goal for 2016 will be more cans, and assistance with the island's program for better pick-up and recycling services. The goals for future years would be to develop similar programs in other littered yet beautiful places.
Thanks for being part of something bigger. Check here for progress updates.
~Luke
October 2015
Our sales have outperformed way beyond our expectations. We are very close to having reaching the goal of purchasing a full pallet of heavy duty trash cans. We are now working on figuring out the shipping logistics. Stay tuned!
