Leading with Care: How Women Around the World are Inspiring Businesses, Empowering Communities, and Creating Opportunity

Insisting on Fair Trade

In building her company, Zhena traveled to India and Sri Lanka, where she met the women who plucked her tea. She was concerned when she learned that some of them had babies with medical problems but no insurance to cover the cost of their care. Because of her experiences with Sage, she instantly related to what these mothers were going through. And she realized that she was in the perfect position to do something about it by buying only 100 percent fair trade and certified organic materials.

Because Zhena connected so closely with the women who plucked her tea, this wasn’t just another business decision. She had learned that the women who worked at traditional gardens were only paid about U.S. $1.40 per day—hardly ...