Fairtrade Urges UK Tea Drinkers to ‘Brew It Fair’ for Workers’ Rights

The Fairtrade Foundation is urging UK tea drinkers to support ethical sourcing by choosing Fairtrade-certified tea. Despite tea being the world’s most popular beverage after water, many tea workers face poor wages, long working hours, and harsh living conditions. In regions like Kenya, where a significant portion of the world’s tea is grown, one in four children suffer from malnutrition, and one in ten die before the age of five. This highlights the pressing need for fairer wages and better living standards for those who grow and harvest tea.

Fairtrade certification ensures that tea producers receive a minimum price for their products, as well as an additional premium that can be reinvested into essential community services like clean water, healthcare, and education. However, only about 7% of tea sold globally is Fairtrade-certified, limiting the impact on improving workers’ livelihoods. The Foundation is calling on UK consumers to help amplify the difference by opting for Fairtrade tea, thereby supporting better conditions for workers in the tea industry.

A significant move in the right direction came when Sainsbury’s reintroduced the Fairtrade label on its “by Sainsbury’s” teabags, signaling a return to globally recognized ethical sourcing standards. This decision is expected to boost UK Fairtrade tea sales by 50%, contributing an estimated £1 million to the Fairtrade premium. The Fairtrade Foundation sees this as a crucial moment in shifting the industry toward more sustainable practices and is encouraging other retailers to adopt similar measures to support ethical tea production.