Being E-Tea-hical
- Sandhya
- Nov 28, 2021
- 2 min read
Updated: Dec 5, 2021
As much as we brands tend to be customer focused, the actual toil is done by the employees. From sourcing to the distribution, it is necessary to take care of the stakeholders. The tea industry is notorious for exploitation of its plantation workers. India being the second largest tea producer in the world and Tata tea being one of the biggest players in Tea, it is their responsibility to establish associations or policies to make sure that there is transparency to its employees and have ethical procurement procedures and yet not exploit the natural resources of earth to maintain their brand identity. Here are some measures taken by them:
Ethical Tea Partnership (ETP):
A decade and half ago, the brand along with its stakeholders founded the ETP. The ETP is a non-commercial partnership of tea companies committed to improving the lives of tea workers and their environment, to create a thriving tea industry that is socially just and environmentally sustainable. One of the notable ways ETP affects change is through farmer mentorship program and through Farmer Field Schools (FFS) where farmers choose their own curriculum and learn through practise. They currently have various projects running in India, China, Indonesia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sri Lanka and Malawi in partnership with various NGOs, government organisations, associations and experts.
To know more - https://www.ethicalteapartnership.org/
Trust Tea:
Tata consumer the parent company of Tata Tea established Trust Tea which is a code that enables producers, buyers and others involved in Indian tea businesses to be transparent with their sourcing. It was established to support smallholders and estates by improving the competitiveness of tea gardens through positively influencing the practices and scale of production, farm organisation, processing, new technologies and supply chain development. The code established involves aspects predominantly used for agriculture and employee rights such as water management, waste and pollution management, product traceability, Safety, health and welfare of the workforce etc.
To know more - https://trustea.org/
Rain forest Alliance:
To ensure sustainable sourcing, they entered into a partnership with Rain Forest Alliance and all the Tetley brands are 100% rain forest alliance certified. The Rainforest Alliance is an international non-governmental organization with staff in more than 20 countries and operations in more than 70 countries. It was founded in 1987 by Daniel Katz, an American environmental activist, who serves as the chair of the board of directors. The Rainforest Alliance 2020 Certification Program has established various requirements that are followed strictly for a brand to comply and hence get certified.
To know more - https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/
- An article by Sandhya Suresh
References:
TCPL-Sustainability Report - 2019 to 2020
Number of words : 330
Each industry segment has its own emerging trends and technologies and so do the Tea Industry. It is not just the ways of framing but applying the technology to improve yield, protection from insects etc. also plays a major part, which the Tea organizations across the world should invest campaign and educate the farmers.