Selling Out (Honest Tea and Coke)

Interesting article about Honest Tea's struggle with Coke (who owns 40% of the company) to remain "sustainable".  I have heard Seth Goldman speak as the keynote of Net Impact last year and it was awarded most sustainable brand or something.  I don't really see how single serve soft drinks can be sustainable. 

That's one of the things about Life Cycle Analysis that is really neat.  I would venture to say that the environmental and social impact of a can of Coke vs. an plastic bottle of Honest Tea would almost wash each other out to be equal.  The Honest tea would score slightly higher on the social but the Coke would probably be better on the environmental/carbon impact due to economies of scale.

Two thoughts: 1) Was Honest Tea ever a "sustainable" company? trucking around sweetened (cane sugar or High fructose doesn't really matter) water in plastic bottles with refrigation to sell a product that could be made with a tea bag and cup/bottle of water?  Is it actually greener now that it has the logistical efficiencies of the Coke distribution system? 

2) Is there really any other way to bring a beverage to mass market without Coke or Pepsi?  Odwalla was left with the same fate years ago.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/08/business/smallbusiness/08sbiz.html?src=me&ref=business