NEW YORK, Feb. 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- ITO EN, the world's leading supplier of loose leaf and makers of the award-winning bottled green tea, TEAS' TEA®, will mark its sixth year as a Supplier Alliance Partner of Whole Planet Foundation, a nonprofit organization established by Whole Foods Market to alleviate poverty through microcredit financing in developing countries.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130219/NY62944-a )
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130219/NY62944-b )

Committed to supporting the mission of the Whole Planet Foundation, ITO EN is one of the original founding Supplier Alliance Partners of the foundation, launched in 2005. Formed by the entrepreneurial spirit of Whole Foods Market with Nobel Laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank, the founding partners have pledged over $1.45 million dollars to the microentrepeneurs. This year's kick-off will begin on February 21 through March 2013.  

"ITO EN is proud to continue to support the mission of the Whole Planet Foundation," said Jim Hoagland, executive vice president at ITO EN (North America) INC.  "Each year the in-store support and customer awareness of the program has grown, enabling the TEAS' TEA® brand to have a bigger impact in alleviating poverty through microcredit," added Hoagland.   

TEAS' TEA® is an all natural ready-to-drink tea, named from the Japanese expression Ocha no Naka No Ocha, simply meaning "The Tea of ALL Teas!" With thoughtful sourcing and meticulous brewing methods, TEAS' TEAS'® proprietary filtration method reduces sediment creating a clean finish. The company has been a pioneer and leader in the unsweetened tea market for over 10 years in the United States and continues to expand its distribution in natural and mainstream markets.

Awarded "1^st Place in Green Tea" by the  World Tea Expo, and hailed as "Healthiest Beverage" by FITNESS and SELF Magazine, TEAS' TEA® has been recognized as the all-around good for you beverage. From the tea leaves used in the brewing process, the company has also been recognized for their CSR initiatives in recycling used tea leaves to create eco-friendly products such as benches, vending machines and household products.

For more information, please Teastea.com or Itoen.com

About ITO EN (North America) INC.

ITO EN (North America) INC., a subsidiary of ITO EN, LTD., is the nation's leading purveyor of green tea products and beverages. The company is an innovator in the beverage industry, marketing award-winning Japanese tea lines in the U.S., including: TEAS' TEA®, Traditional Japanese Tea (Oi Ocha - Japan's 1 Selling Green Tea), and ITO EN Shots. Voted as "Best Tea" in New York City's Zagat's Gourmet and Entertainment Guide for eight consecutive years and hailed as "Model Tea" by Beverage World Magazine, ITO EN is dedicated to creating an authentic green tea culture in the United States. Committed to products that embody the company's five principles of Natural, Safe, Healthy, Well-designed and Delicious,  ITO EN is uniquely positioned as a pioneer in the tea industry.

SOURCE ITO EN