Tetley and the Ethical Tea Partnership

We have always been committed to running the Tetley business responsibly. Understanding, managing and improving the impacts we have throughout our supply chain is central to the way we work. This reflects values long held within the organisation but is increasingly in keeping with the demands of our complex web of stakeholders. A growing programme of local and corporate activities addressing ethical, social and environmental issues testifies to our commitment.

Our major ethical impact remains the living and working conditions of the people on tea estates around the world. Other leading packers share our belief in taking responsibility for this and exercise it through membership of the Ethical Tea Partnership. Senior managers of Tetley continue to play a leading role in shaping and developing the organisation.

Does Tetley do a Fairtrade tea?

Tetley is committed to the ethical sourcing of tea and we do this through our membership of a growing international organisation called the Ethical Tea Partnership www.ethicalteapartnership.org. The ETP and the Fairtrade Foundation have the complementary objective of ensuring appropriate living and working conditions for those working on tea estates, but they address the objective in different ways.

We do not currently have a Fairtrade tea in our portfolio. We believe that for a manufacturer of our size, being an active member of the ETP is the most appropriate way of addressing the ethical issues associated with tea sourcing. The ETP deals with a much larger volume of world tea supply. 65% of world tea exports are from the nine tea producing countries the ETP are currently monitoring. 66% of teas sold in the UK come from ETP members whilst Fairtrade teas account for less than 0.5% of all tea consumed in the UK.

Click here to visit the ETP website, or click on their logo opposite.

Tetley is not responsible for the content of external internet sites