After spending 50 hours on a billboard, 80 feet above the ground, located on Bandra Reclamation Road, Mumbai, seven Greenpeace activists finally climbed down from the billboards a few moments after they were informed that two of the leading tea companies, Unilever and Girnar have agreed to clean our tea.
The activists spent 50 hours on these billboards to bring to notice the presence of unapproved pesticides in our tea. Each billboard carried a simple yet profound message compelling tea companies to ‘Clean Chai Now’.
One of the activists is a mother, who chose to join the fight against pesticides in tea because she does not wish to raise her daughter in a world where pesticides become a norm. Says an ecstatic Bindu Vaz, “We are happy that our efforts are paying off and companies are coming forward to engage with us in a positive way. We look forward to a day when all our tea is free from pesticides.”
Three days ago, Greenpeace released a report titled Trouble Brewing [1], highlighting the presence of pesticide residues in our tea. Since then, thousands of people from all across the country have come together to demand clean tea. As a result, both Unilever and Girnar have come forward and said yes to clean our tea.
Shares Neha Saigal, Senior Campaigner, Greenpeace India, “It is very encouraging that the tea companies are taking steps to provide their consumers pesticide-free tea. Unilever and now Girnar Tea have taken the first step in this direction. Greenpeace will continue to urge the tea industry to move towards a holistic, ecosystem-based approach that will gradually phase out pesticides and clean our chai.”
Notes:
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