Ethical tea partnership

Growing and producing tea provides a livelihood for people all around the world

Tetley's partnership

The Ethical Tea Partnership

We deliver on this commitment to securing a viable future for the global tea industry through active membership of the Ethical Tea Partnership (ETP). The ETP is a non-commercial alliance of 20 international tea packers who share a vision for a thriving tea industry that is socially just and environmentally sustainable.

The ETP operates in all the major tea growing regions – Argentina, Brazil, China, India (Assam, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu), Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, Sri Lanka, and Tanzania. Together these supply over 85% of world tea exports.

Key to its success are the five Regional Managers based in Africa, China, India, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka. These are local people who build relationships with tea producers and support them to participate effectively in the ETP programme.

The EPT assess how estates are performing with social and environmental criterias laid our in the ETP standards:

• employment is freely chosen
• freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining
• health and safety
• child labour and young workers
• wages and benefits
• working hours
• discrimination
• regular employment
• no harsh or inhumane treatment
• agrochemicals
• biodiversity
• soil conservation
• water conservation
• energy use
• waste management

if these requirements are not met an ETP regional manager will work with the estate management to address the issue