Wine importer J. Soif, Inc. has today announced two significant partnerships it has established through its certified organic wine brand, Yellow+Blue, making it the only carbon-neutral wine importer in the U.S. and the only wine importer in the world to put a portion of its sales towards global microloans.

Due to its eco-friendly Tetra Pak packaging, the carbon footprint of Yellow+Blue wines is 46% less than that of wine in traditional glass bottles. In order to offset the remaining 54%, the company has purchased 472 metric tons of verified carbon offsets to take responsibility for one hundred percent of the emissions generated by moving its wine from the vineyards to its packaging plants and warehouses. The carbon credits, which were purchased from Boulder, CO based Renewable Choice Energy, support a landfill gas-to-energy carbon reduction project in the United States.

"Yellow+Blue's commitment to analyzing its environmental footprint and supporting carbon reduction shows leadership and demonstrates a best practice for environmental responsibility," said Quayle Hodek, CEO of Renewable Choice Energy. "This organization is creating awareness for voluntary carbon reductions and the importance of investing in clean technology solutions."

"Keeping in the spirit of our Drink Well Do Good mantra, oenophiles can not only enjoy our wine, they can feel good about buying it," said W. Matthew Cain, founder of Yellow+Blue. "I'm proud to say that Yellow+Blue's investment has the collective environmental impact to help avoid the same amount of CO2 emissions produced by driving nearly 1.1 million miles in an average passenger vehicle."

Yellow+Blue has also devoted itself to strengthening the global community by becoming an official partner of Kiva (www.kiva.org), the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website. Yellow+Blue is giving 1 percent of each sale to Kiva, which empowers unique entrepreneurs around the globe and strives to alleviate poverty. Currently, Yellow+Blue is the only wine brand in the world to join the Kiva community of over 662,000 individuals who have loaned more than $117 million to 290,000 entrepreneurs in 51 countries.

"Yellow+Blue's decision to work with Kiva is an important milestone for both of our organizations," said Premal Shah, President of Kiva.org. "We're looking forward to all the positive things to come from this partnership and admire its dedication in helping to make Kiva the world's hub for alleviating poverty."

"Our commitment to Kiva strives to enable entrepreneurs throughout the world to realize their dreams of creating a company and giving back to their communities," said W. Matthew Cain, founder of Yellow+Blue. "As the only wine company affiliated with the organization, we hope that with each glass of Yellow+Blue poured, an entrepreneur somewhere in the world is a step closer achieving his or her goal."

About Yellow+Blue

Imported by J. Soif, Inc., Yellow+Blue is proof that exceptional imported wine can travel the world without damaging the planet. Certified organic, Yellow+Blue wine takes advantage of earth-friendly lightweight Tetra Pak cartons that cost significantly less to ship and leave a smaller carbon footprint than glass bottles. For more information and where to purchase Yellow+Blue wines, please visit www.ybwines.com.

About Renewable Choice Energy

Renewable Choice Energy (http://www.renewablechoice.com) is a leading national provider of renewable energy credits (RECs) and verified emission reductions (VERs) (carbon offsets) to hundreds of Fortune 500 Companies and small businesses, thousands of residential customers, and over 1000 LEED green building projects in the U.S. Founded in 2001, Boulder-Colo.-based Renewable Choice and its clients have received prestigious awards from the EPA and DOE for supporting and expanding the renewable energy market and have been featured in hundreds of media outlets including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, CNN, USA TODAY, and more.

About Kiva.org

Kiva.org is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend to an entrepreneur across the globe. Founded in 2005, Kiva.org's mission is to connect people, through lending, to alleviate poverty. Over 585,000 people have loaned more than $117 million to 290,000 entrepreneurs in 51 countries. Currently, loans made through Kiva.org have a 98% repayment rate. Kiva.org is headquartered in San Francisco.

J. Soif, Inc.

J. Soif, Inc.

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