The Rainforest Alliance has begun to certify sustainable tea farms, starting with those owned by Unilever. The world's largest tea company recently announced that it will begin the process by converting its own tea estate in Kenya to meet Rainforest Alliance standards. Other tea farms in Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Indonesia, India, Argentina and Sri Lanka will follow.

Rainforest Alliance certification will bring continuous improvements to environmental protection, farm management and worker welfare, as well as enable growers to obtain higher prices for their tea. Unilever expects that Rainforest Alliance Certified tea will command 10 to 15 percent more than current average prices paid at auction.

"This decision will transform the tea industry, which has been suffering for many years from oversupply and underperformance," said Unilever CEO Patrick Cescau. "It will not be achieved overnight, but we are committed to doing it because we believe it is the right thing to do for the people who drink our tea, for the people along the entire length of our supply chain and for our business."

Rainforest Alliance Certified tea will be available in August 2007, starting with the restaurant and catering trade in Europe. Unilever aims to have all Lipton tea bags sold globally certified by 2015.

The Rainforest Alliance annual report for fiscal year 2006 is now available online. This publication provides a comprehensive overview of our on-the-ground work and is illustrated with beautiful full-color pictures. A few of our achievements during the past year include:

• Working with Goldman Sachs to source over 75,000 pounds of Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified wood for their new 2.1 million square foot world headquarters building in New York City.
• Issuing a chain-of custody certification for botanicals and essential oils purchased from FSC/Rainforest Alliance Certified community forests in Nepal to the British company S&D Aroma, a global supplier of essential oils to manufacturers of beauty products.
• Certifying nearly one-quarter of Bolivia's managed forests to FSC standards. The certified acres encompass the endangered Amazonian forest and Chiquitano dry forest ecosystems and protect the endangered short-eared dog, southern two-toed sloth, pygmy marmoset, saddleback tamarin, Goeldi's monkey and maned wolf.

Deforestation and forest degradation have reached an alarming rate in Indonesia. On average, the country loses forest area equal to six football fields every minute because of destructive and illegal logging and forest conversion to other uses. To raise awareness of the situation in Indonesia and promote the use of responsibly harvested wood, the Rainforest Alliance launched a FSC awareness campaign. On World Environment Day, commemorated every June 5^th, Rainforest Alliance representatives gave presentations in cities throughout the country and are planning to promote the campaign on print and broadcast media.

According to Anjasmara Prasetya, an actor who serves as an ambassador of sustainable forest management for the Rainforest Alliance in her native Indonesia, most Indonesian consumers "never ask the source of wood they buy, and never pay attention to what impact their purchasing may have on the environment or indigenous people's livelihoods."

Mr. Prasetya said the new campaign would help inform consumers that "by purchasing FSC-certified forest products, you get value for your money as you directly participate in forest conservation in Indonesia."

The long days of summer are here, and if you're looking for activities to entertain and educate kids in elementary and middle school, check out the Rainforest Alliance Learning Site. Activities on the site include:

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© 2007 Rainforest Alliance