Partner Article

Consumers demand a fair cuppa

North East Fairtrade charity Traidcraft has revealed that two thirds of UK tea drinkers want their cuppa to be ethically sourced.

66% of UK tea consumers buy Fairtrade or would be in favour of their preferred tea brand converting to Fairtrade, according to a poll commissioned by Traidcraft.

The poll is published today to mark International Tea Day, and tea drinkers are already making their views known, having sent over 20,000 postcards to the five brands that dominate the market – PG Tips, Tetleys, Twinings, Typhoo and Yorkshire Tea – calling for them to go Fairtrade.

The call is backed by the Women’s Institute and by Traidcraft, both of whom helped set up the Fairtrade Foundation, which awards the Fairtrade Mark.

The poll also found that 64% of tea buyers are willing to pay more for Fairtrade tea.

Camilla Porter, Traidcraft head of campaigns, said: “The big tea brands are lagging behind popular consumer brands like Starbucks, Tate & Lyle, Cadbury’s Dairy Milk and Nestlé’s KitKat, which have all made a commitment to Fairtrade.

“Right now there are 80 registered Fairtrade tea producers with spare Fairtrade tea to sell. PG Tips, Tetleys, Twinings, Typhoo and Yorkshire Tea have 72% of the market. Their commitment to Fairtrade would make a lasting difference to the lives of millions of tea workers.

“The UK is truly a nation of tea lovers and the massive response by consumers calling for Fairtrade shows that they care about the people in the developing world who grow and pick the tea leaves to make our daily cuppas.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .