La Fabrikathé CSR commitment
Since our creation in 2016, our small family business has been committed to defending the values of French craftsmanship on a daily basis, based on a sustainable and eco-responsible production approach where respect for nature and people is at the heart of our concerns.
From the purchase to the production of plants,
an eco-responsible approach
Organic produce and short supply chains
We are committed to keeping middlemen to a minimum and to working in a SHORT CIRCUIT with our producer partners for our raw material supplies (plants, fruit, etc.). Over the years, we have been able to set up framework contracts with producers’ cooperatives, small family farms and small tea gardens. To guarantee the irreproachable quality of our ingredients, we source almost 90% of our raw materials organically.
The workshop and tea garden of our tea producer New Vithanakande (Ceylon)
Blender but also producer
In 2021, we will also have our own plantation to produce 20% of our aromatic plant requirements (verbena, camomile, mint, lemon balm, etc.). These are now included in over a dozen recipes.
Hand-harvesting verbena. Right out of the field, we head for the low-temperature dryer, for long-lasting drying that preserves all the plant’s properties.
Committed to marketing too
Finally, we make it a point of honor to work mainly with partners from our region for the printing and manufacture of our packaging: our doypacks are made in Vienne, while our Advent calendar, pasta boxes and labels are made in the Rhône. All our external service providers (IT maintenance, referencing, etc.) are small local businesses.
A CSR approach
for our employees
Flexibility and job stability
With the majority of our employees and their families living in the immediate vicinity of Fabrikathé (many of them in the very village where we are based), it’s essential that they can take advantage of this convenience to save time. This is why we have introduced a policy designed to respect the balance between the private and professional lives of each employee: flexible working hours to take account of family constraints, respect for the 35-hour working week, adjustment of production schedules according to the season and the degree of hardship involved…
Apart from a few occasional reinforcements, employees in the agricultural sector are hired on permanent, 35-hour contracts. Thanks to an agile farming model and to counter the seasonal effect, they are kept busy all year round, and can switch to workshop production during the winter, for example. Multitasking is an integral part of Fabrikathé’s operations: the office staff regularly help out with harvesting in midsummer and sales in the boutique during the holiday rush.
Picking chamomile with the whole office team on hand!
Organic vegetables
We have invested in a large market garden – tended by our agricultural team – to provide our employees and their families with fresh organic vegetables free of charge… in exchange for a few hours’ help with the harvest.
What’s more, since we’ve launched our own artisanal pasta production, our employees are supplied with pasta free of charge.
Parity in human resources
We have as many men as women in the company, with total pay equality for equivalent positions.
Limiting the footprint of our activities :
a commitment to the planet !
Importing teas from producing countries (Asia, Africa…) considerably increases the carbon footprint of our blending activity, and we are perfectly aware of this.
The creation of the plantation also stems from this realization, since the idea is to relocate part of the plant production.
For our infusettes, we work with 100% plant-based PLA, which is biodegradable and compostable.
We also feel it’s important to take daily steps to reduce the impact of our activities on the environment:
- We recycle cardboard: we don't use cardboard marked FBKT, we reuse the ones we receive.
- Our buildings benefit from LED lighting and reinforced insulation to prevent heat loss.
- We buy green electricity.
- We have a contract for the collection and recycling of all office paper and cardboard with a social economy association working on reintegration through employment.
- We use no disposable crockery
Sharing the nature :
a duty to educate
At the end of spring, our botanical garden opens its doors to offer educational tours open to groups, walkers and families alike, with the creation of a fun trail for children.
A stroll through the aromatic and medicinal plants, the beehives, the fruit trees, the vegetable garden and the tea bushes….
The team working on the creation of the Botanical Garden
Group tours guided by Julien David, founder and manager of Fabrikathé
We are keen to offer this type of ecotourism activity to pass on to younger generations the values of the earth and living things, and also to promote our local area.
A more complete formula with a guided tour of our plantation and assembly workshop will also be offered several days a week throughout the season.
