TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s first tea products with carbon footprint labels have been approved after their life-cycle emissions were measured, CNA reported Friday.
The agriculture ministry's Tea and Beverage Research Station said it helped young farmer Li Kuan-yi (李冠毅) and Taiwan Tea Corporation’s Sun Moon Lake Old Tea Factory complete the carbon label application process. The labels show the amount of carbon emissions produced during the products’ life cycle.
The station said the approvals mark an important step for Taiwan’s tea industry. It said carbon labels can help tea producers build lower-emission production systems and improve Taiwan tea’s position in overseas markets.
Tea and Beverage Research Station Director Su Tsung-chen (蘇宗振) said carbon labels give consumers clearer information about a product’s environmental impact. He said the labels show emissions from farming and processing to packaging and transport.
Su said the system can also help farmers improve how they grow and process tea. He said this could support greener buying choices and create new business opportunities for low-carbon farm products.
The government is promoting carbon labels as part of its green purchasing policy. Su said tea products with carbon labels could have a market advantage as more buyers look for products with lower emissions.
Tea production includes farming, harvesting, processing, packaging, and transport. The station said this makes emissions difficult to measure because carbon can be produced at many stages.
To reduce the burden on producers, the station provides one-stop support for carbon label applications. It helps decide what parts of production should be measured, collect data, use emissions factors, and prepare documents.
The station also provides field demonstrations and training. It helps tea farmers use fertilizer more efficiently, save energy during processing, and reduce waste.
The station said these steps can reduce emissions from the beginning of production. It said the same low-carbon model could later be used in other major tea-growing areas across Taiwan.
