Our engagements
In the heart of Auvergne
We have been herbalists since 1859. Based in Haute-Loire, our presence in Velay is no coincidence: Verbena, Gentian, Blueberry… our region is a true historical terroir of infusion plants in France.
We are an old company with French food heritage that was built on the values of simplicity and honesty. Our job is to package quality plants, to offer you a tasting experience with incomparable taste and allow you to savor the best of plants.
We are aware of the quality of our environment, and therefore of our responsibility to preserve it. We are strongly exposed to constraints which engage our responsibility for the sustainability of natural resources every day.
Herbal teas and tea are grown all over the world. This requires us to take into account issues such as the use of pesticides, soil erosion and irrigation, the poverty of local populations, etc. We package these products in bags and boxes, using paper and cardboard, all limited resources.
We are located in Puy-en-Velay in a rural and landlocked area, which gives us a significant responsibility as an employer. We are a family business and we operate in a market where the vast majority of players are large groups listed on the stock exchange or companies belonging to investment funds, with a logic of short-term profitability.
Faced with this reality, we are fighting to continue to produce and create value in France with superior quality products. Thus, we have chosen the Organic Agriculture specifications as a product reference in our quality policy, because we are convinced that it is the best option for the preservation of resources and the health of our consumers.
Likewise, PAGÈS is involved in the relocation of a French organic infusion plant sector, convinced that there are solutions to continue to produce superior quality teas and infusions in France with a sustainable economic project.
Ethical sourcing
Our teas and infusions are ORGANIC for the majority of our ranges and certified by Ecocert. Our quality policy is governed by the International Food Standard (IFS). We are members of the Ethical Tea Partnership and Max Havelaar. For our French infusions from the Herboriste du Velay brand in the organic network, we are also members of Biopartenaire.
We favor working in France, close to our location. Our box and cardboard suppliers, our carrier and our service providers are regional companies.
Eco design of packaging
Reduction of our waste (removal of flaps from our overwrapping boxes, elimination of cellophane, while ensuring the inviolability of the box: we thus save 60 tonnes of plastic per year, use of a paper bag without metal clips and without glue, recyclable cardboard boxes, controlled mineral oil residue levels, etc.).
Limit plant losses in our production cycle thanks to a unique recycling system.
Respect for the territory
Our production site is constantly evolving, with the simple desire to do things well, for people and for the environment. We rely on a centralized installation on a single site, both in terms of upstream and downstream storage, which allows us to reduce the impact of freight.
- Intelligent lighting, with translucent cladding ramps to promote natural lighting, and presence detectors.
- Phyto-treatment of our organic waste through our own ecological installation with a natural phyto-purification mechanism, allowing us not to discharge our organic waste into the public network.
- Heat recovery via the installation of a hot air reinjection network from the machine production area to the warehouses.
- Respectful organization of work in a human-sized structure, with a continuous improvement approach to hygiene, safety and well-being of employees. 100% of our employees are on permanent contracts in 2022, including 97% full-time, with a gender equality index of 96. We have chosen to organize production teams in 2x8s by refusing intensive operation, anticipating and smoothing our production over the year.
Our production site is closed on weekends and 3 weeks in summer, which allows our employees to have a “normal” family life.
- Relocation, through the re-internalization of our activities: this is the case for the packaging of our boxes and promotional boxes that we produce on our site or in partnership with the ESATs in our neighborhood, for all orders of our website, etc. We have also set up a partnership for the supply and fair trade of organic plants in relation with 50 farmers in the Rhône Dauphiné sector.
- Mainly local service providers and partners