Empower People; Have tea, provide a job.
Empowering people, saving forests, and tasting incredible, your cup of
loose leaf tea has the power to do a lot. At Clean U Skincare, we're passionate about creating products with a positive impact, and we’ve found our loose leaf teas are one of the best ways to do this.
Sipping on your hot cup of Rosehip & Mint tea is having a bigger impact than you might think, thanks to the organisations we partner with.
The Jagriti Organisation
"We believe that poverty can be sustainably conquered by empowering women".
A cause Clean U Skincare is proud to be a part of.
As a tea lover, Clean U Skincare founder, Arushi, was always keen to source teas that tasted incredible but also had a positive impact. When Arushi discovered the Jagriti Organisation (the Hindi word for Awakening - when you rise above your basic human need and reach self-actualisation) and learnt of their incredibly diverse project work, a tea found friendship with Clean U Skincare had to be made.
As a consultant for HP Forestry Sector Reforms Project funded by The United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) – a woman named Jagriti set about on a mission to tackle major problems such as retreating forests and widespread poverty. She founded a non-profit to help impoverished communities in the Kullu region of India and works with these communities to develop them with guidance and ways to improve their quality of life.
So how does it work?
Jagriti promotes new and alternative income opportunities through labour, conservation, and sustainable harvest.
However, picking tea leaves, making money, and alleviating poverty isn't a streamlined system. The majority of developing economy working women have laborious domestic chores to complete.
Jagriti promotes new and alternative income opportunities through labour, conservation, and sustainable harvest.
However, picking tea leaves, making money, and alleviating poverty isn't a streamlined system. The majority of developing economy working women have laborious domestic chores to complete.
For example, families in some areas require wood for cooking. Women would spend their days cutting and carrying wood in the forest to sustain their homes. The women are often exhausted after their daily home chores are done, making it difficult to engage in other business tasks that may liberate them from their painstaking labour.
Jagriti realised that if these women had cooking gas, they wouldn't need to spend so much time working hard in the forest. The time saved from not cutting wood would enable them to engage in more profitable tasks. By
providing lifestyle necessities, Jagriti liberates women from domestic work and encourages them to engage in harvest to acquire more money. Harvesting provides these hard-working women with a way to benefit from physical work and the natural world surrounding them.
providing lifestyle necessities, Jagriti liberates women from domestic work and encourages them to engage in harvest to acquire more money. Harvesting provides these hard-working women with a way to benefit from physical work and the natural world surrounding them.
Alongside cooking gas, women running the home need other energy services. Just like cutting wood, obtaining immediate resources requires tiresome activity so Jagriti provides women with Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) pressure Cookers, a Hamam (water heating device) and Tandoor (Metallic stove). These devices simplify the running of the home, enabling women to preserve energy and mental capacity for the more profitable task of harvest.As women began to consider the natural ingredients they could pick and sell, a database of sought-after goods began to develop. Today, the women involved in the Jagriti programme pick fruits, grains, herbs, flowers and more.
Jagriti has improved the lives of hundreds of women in the three valleys of the Kullu district in Himachal Pradesh, India and the women taking part in Jagriti work schemes are paid a good and fair wage, which has enabled them to escape poverty.
Clean U Skincare’s loose leaf tea range
Clean U Skincare's loose leaf tea leaves are an example of the sustainable non-timber forest produce reaped from the wild.
Clean U Skincare's loose leaf tea leaves are an example of the sustainable non-timber forest produce reaped from the wild.
We collaborate with Jagriti to source sustainable ingredients that empower women. That is why our Rosehip & Mint, Dandelion, Rhododendron & Holy Basil, and soon-to-launch new flavours are hand-picked in the Kullu regions. Every cup is full of all-natural, organic ingredients that have improved the lives of women who need it most.
Our customers love nothing more than sipping herbal tea and engaging in the calming ritual of making and brewing and our tea range has rapidly become one of our bestselling products. As tea lovers ourselves, we understand. Our fresh and fragrant tea selection paired with bamboo strainer are must-haves for every member of the Clean U Skincare working team. But it's the story behind these refreshing hot beverages that made us buy in.
Loose leaf tea and sustainability
The network of women hand-picking natural ingredients makes Clean U Skincare teas a sustainable alternative to your everyday teabag.
Jagriti's supply chain comprises hundreds of women harvesting and processing using their hands. The absence of machinery, chemical aids, and other modes of mass production mean our teas have an impressively low carbon footprint. It also means every leaf is 100% natural, fresh, and full of flavour! Jagriti's system is built upon women helping women— something we at Clean U Skincare are immensely proud to be involved in.
The majority of shop-bought teas include plastic. Unlike loose leaf tea, teabags require plastic to keep the leaves secure. By eliminating the bag, we cut out single-use plastic and improve the taste and quality of your beverage.
Brewing your Clean U Skincare loose leaf tea
To brew your cup of botanical tea, put one teaspoon of tea leaves in your bamboo strainer, pour over almost boiling water, and let it sit for three to four minutes. Once it's cool enough to sip, sit back, enjoy the flavours, and reminisce on the wonderful journey and impact your delicious cuppa has had!
To brew your cup of botanical tea, put one teaspoon of tea leaves in your bamboo strainer, pour over almost boiling water, and let it sit for three to four minutes. Once it's cool enough to sip, sit back, enjoy the flavours, and reminisce on the wonderful journey and impact your delicious cuppa has had!
Our popular Rhododendron and Basil tea can also be drunk cold. For this, simply brew your tea as usual and wait for it to cool. Add sugar syrup or your preferred sweetener with a few cubes of ice and enjoy the perfect summer cold brew!