TETLEY TEA SWITCHES TO 100% RAINFOREST ALLIANCE
Tea took another industry-changing leap towards sustainability today as the Rainforest Alliance announced that Tetley, the world’s second largest tea company, has committed to sourcing all of its tea for its Tetley brand worldwide from Rainforest Alliance CertifiedTM farms.
Around 60 million cups of tea from Rainforest Alliance Certified™ farms are consumed in the UK every day, guaranteeing the tea-drinker that whilst they are enjoying the UK’s most popular beverage, both the environment and the lives of the tea farmers and workers are being protected and improved. The Tetley commitment will increase the number of cups of tea from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms from 60 million to circa 95 million.
All Tetley branded tea bags and loose tea for black, green and red (Rooibos) tea, including flavoured and decaffeinated varieties, will be part of the certification programme, which is scheduled for completion by 2016.
Speaking about today’s announcement, Tensie Whelan, Rainforest Alliance President said: “The tea industry has faced many challenges, from declining prices to poor farming and environmentally damaging practices. The Rainforest Alliance certification programme assists farmers in addressing these issues and in reaching new value added markets as well as focusing on improving productivity and significantly improving their quality of life.
We are delighted with Tetley’s huge commitment, which will help meet the demand for sustainability that the environment and tea farmers need and consumers obviously want.”
All farms that are Rainforest Alliance Certified™ have met the environmental, social and economic standards of the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN). The SAN standards cover ecosystem conservation, worker rights and safety, wildlife protection, water and soil conservation, agrochemical reduction, decent housing, and legal wages and contracts for workers.
The Rainforest Alliance began working with tea farmers in 2006 and is now active in Kenya, Tanzania, Argentina, India and Indonesia. Today 87,000 hectares are Rainforest Alliance Certified, producing 125,000 tonnes of tea and benefiting 170,000 tea workers and their families. Recently 38,000 tea smallholders in Kenya achieved Rainforest Alliance certification.
The Rainforest Alliance works closely with the Ethical Tea Partnership (ETP), of which Tetley is a member. The collaboration between the Rainforest Alliance and the ETP aims to build capacity within the tea industry to tackle sustainability issues from the grassroots upwards and through to certification.
Peter Unsworth, CEO of the Tata Beverage Group, owner of the Tetley brand, said, “Our consumers will be able to enjoy their favourite Tetley blend knowing it has been produced in a way that respects the environment and the tea growers and pickers. We are delighted to be working with the Rainforest Alliance and the Sustainable Agriculture Network who are well positioned to support a brand with the scale and reach of Tetley”.
The first Tetley products to carry the Rainforest Alliance CertifiedTM seal will be available for the UK foodservice channel in early 2010. Products will then become more widely available in the UK and Canada early in 2011, followed by launches in other key markets including the US, Australia and mainland Europe from 2012.
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