Yep!  Case in point: Honest Tea.

Barry had just returned from India where he had been analyzing the tea industry for a case study, and had learned that most of the tea purchased for bottling by American companies was the lower quality dust and fannings left after quality tea had been produced. To describe a bottled tea that was made with real tea leaves-he used the name Honest Tea. When Seth heard the name, the bells started ringing-it was the perfect name to fit an all-natural brand that would strive to create healthy and honest relationships with its customers, suppliers and the environment.

Seth took a deep breath, quit his high-finance job, and started brewing batches of tea in his kitchen. Five weeks after taking the plunge, he brought thermoses of tea and a bottle with a mock-up label to Fresh Fields (Whole Foods Markets). During that meeting, the order came for 15,000 bottles, and so did the heavy pause as Seth’s mind raced, trying to figure out how they would produce that much tea. They were, suddenly, in the tea business.

That was ten years ago. Today, Honest Tea can be found in glass bottles, plastic bottles, barely sweetened, or even ‘a tad sweet’ in tens of thousands of stores across the US. The company has applied its passion for social responsibility to initiatives in the environment and to creating partnerships with the growers, cultures, and communities behind the teas.

Their History:

• 1998-They finished their first year with sales of $250,000 offering five varieties of freshly brewed and barely sweetened tea. 

• 1999-Their second year added a few more varieties of bottled tea, and their first organic tea, Decaf Ceylon, joined the portfolio as a naturally decaffeinated black tea. They landed lots of new accounts, closing with $1.1 million in sales.

• 2000-Year three put them into the tea bag business in addition to their bottled beverage business. They  added another organic variety, Jakarta Ginger, and launched eight varieties of tea bags (five organic). They became the fastest-growing bottled tea brand in natural food stores and sales weighed in at $1.9 million.

• 2001-In their fourth year more than 50% of their offerings became organic. They  introduced Community Green, an organic bottled tea created in partnership with City Year, a non-profit organization that brings together young people for a year of community service. Fourth year sales were $3.2 million.

• 2002-Year five introduced an organic herbal tea made with chamomile and dried limes-limes purchased from a Guatemalan farm cooperative, becoming their first US customer. They also introduced an herbal tea produced in partnership with a farmers’ cooperative in South Africa. In this fifth year they became the best-selling bottled tea brand in the natural foods industry, claiming seven of the top ten best-selling varieties and sales topped $4.6 million.

• 2003-Peach Oo-la-long, the first Fair Trade certified bottled tea and Green Dragon Tea were their two most successful product introductions to date and the two most successful new beverages launched in the natural foods industry in 2003. Honest Tea became #117 on the Inc. 500 list of the fastest growing private companies; the highest ranked food and beverage company on the list. They were awarded the grand prize for the “Dream Big Award” sponsored by Inc. and Visa. Sales hit $5.5 million.

• 2004-This next year gained Honest Tea full USDA organic certification on all twelve varieties of their bottled tea and eight tea bag varieties. With this certification, Honest Tea became the only tea company to offer an entire line of organic bottles and bags. They introduced a line of tea in PET-1 Bottles which was met with rave reviews and won several packaging awards. The company was again listed on the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing private companies.

• 2005-The company made its first foray into a non-tea product with the introduction of Honest Ade Limeade and Cranberry Lemonade organic citrus quenchers.

• 2007-Welcomed new investors and board members with the launch of nine new products, including Honest Tea’s first yerba mate drink, and launched their much-anticipated new line, Honest Kids, with three flavors of low-sugar organic thirst quenchers.

What can you do to meet or beat their records?

Yes it is, and it is making a huge impact on the way companies do business.  The video above was posted to You Tube 12 years after it was released by the National Labor Committee. Entitled “Zoned for Slavery:The Child Behind the Label”, it introduced tens of thousands of people to the harsh realities of the global economic system when it was released in 1995. Massive distribution among universities, high schools, religious organizations and unions has given way to global availability online, where it continues to be relevant iand will continue inspiring action against corporate misconduct and sweatshop abuses.

“One of the most critical drivers of the importance of Corporate Social Responsibility in the last few years has been the internet. What it’s done is that it’s allowed consumers two things:

• one is greater visibility into the actions the companies are actually taking, so they know more about what companies are doing today than they ever have in the past.
• The second thing that it’s doing is it’s allowing consumers to band together to create advocacy groups much easier than they could ever do in the past, and to exert influences on corporations once they’ve banded together.

So as a result of this, companies are doing two things:

• one is they’re increasing the transparency with which they operate so that they are not being pried open by consumers but they’re rather sharing much more openly and leveraging the power of the visibility that the consumers have to their benefit, i.e. they want to know when something’s amiss and they will volunteer to take of problems when they arise.
• The other thing that they’re doing with respect to the advocacy issue is to drive new opportunities to collaborate and interact with the consumer, so that they’re getting feedback and support from the consumers on a day-to-day basis relating to both their products and services as well as the way in which they conduct business within different communities or even overseas.”

The Internet has already triggered lasting change in the structures of industries and the ways businesses create value. Today, ubiquitous connectivity is creating new relationships among businesses, customers, employees and partners. People now have access to massive amounts of information — and opinions — about products and company practices. This information is available in every part of the globe, every minute of every day.

But the Internet does more than spread information. It's also a place where people get together to discuss and organize activities to bring about social change. As a result, sustainability, both for societies and enterprises, will require mutual accountability — a more collaborative relationship that allows each party to reach a shared understanding and thrive.

This collaboration is particularly challenging because it takes place during a time of increased visibility of corporate actions. It's also a time when customers' perceptions of companies and their consequent purchasing behaviors are fundamentally changing. And yet, because that means significant financial impact for businesses, CSR is no longer viewed as just a regulatory or discretionary cost, but an investment that brings financial returns.

Information — From visibility to transparency
In today's open environment, companies are finding it necessary to take the wraps off information they once considered private or proprietary. With relentless pressure from watchdog groups, “need to know” restrictions tend to fall away. So, visibility is best met with a continuous exchange of information — or transparency.

What seems like an insatiable thirst for information is in reality a drive for relevant information that can reduce complexity and increase comfort level with purchase decisions. Companies that figure out how to make information relevant will win customers' trust — and build a powerful platform for growth.

And for those who aren’t sure what sweatshops are, there is an entry in Wikipedia.
There are certainly more sites and organizations, and a search of the internet will reveal them.

How can you make sure that your company lives up to these new global community standards?