Greetings,
Like all of you, we at Teeccino are deeply troubled by the terrible injustice and ensuing conflict that has roiled our country in recent days. Finding our way forward to discover solutions that will prevent police brutality and heal racist division is a process that we as a company, as well as each of us as individuals, are fully committed to.
After much discussion at our company meetings, we’ve realized that right action for Teeccino to address these wrongs starts with what we know best: creating health and supporting a clean environment. Too often, communities of color are defenseless against corporate polluters and they become victims of environmental crimes. It could be toxic waste dumped in their neighborhoods or new pipelines that destroy their homes, or any number of other environmental injustices.
To begin, we’d like to bring awareness and support to a national law that is the foundation of our right to protect ourselves and the environment. 50 years ago, Congress enacted The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) which has given all of us, including communities of color, a voice on what contracts and project the federal government approves and funds. NEPA mandates Environmental Impact Statements on projects by both the government and industry. It gives communities the right to defend themselves against harmful actions.
We can support communities of color and their fight to keep their environment healthy by supporting those organizations that help them defend themselves. Earthjustice is a group of lawyers that defends environmental cases in court to hold industry and the government accountable. Greenaction is a grassroots group of urban, rural and indigenous leaders who work with community partners in the fight for environmental, social, economic and climate justice. These are just two of many groups, both local and national, that work tirelessly to bring the full bearing of laws like NEPA to protect the environment and prevent social injustice and racial discrimination.
On the lid of every Teeccino tea box, we print information about groups whose work has inspired us by their commitment and the impact of their mission. We encourage you to read the lids when you sip a cup of Teeccino. Watch for more groups that we plan to feature on our lids in the coming months. Just knowing what one another is doing helps us all become more aware and thus, better citizens. If you have worthy organizations that you think everyone should know about, please share them with us for consideration. We can all keep informing each other of the good works being done by many to right the wrongs of the past and brings us together for a better future!
In peace,
Caroline
