International Tea Day, 21 May, was established thanks to its links with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, but what does sustainability mean for both the producers and consumers of tea?

Scott Wackrow conveys his concern about the future of tea. The Country Head at Tata Consumer Products, who represents Tetley and Teapigs in Australia and New Zealand, earlier this month visited growers in India where drought is making near-future harvests uncertain. Tata the company also has its own tea brand and is one of the world’s biggest buyers and distributors of tea, meaning its concern reverberates throughout the industry.

There’s no doubt climate change has affected growing areas in recent years. While tea emits relatively low amounts of carbon emissions in its harvesting and production phase compared to other crops, the consumer side – packaging, distribution and consumption – also has its environmental costs.

In the UK, the UK Tea & Infusions Association has addressed the consumption side with its Smart Boil campaign, which encourages Brits to only heat as much water as they need each time they switch on the kettle, in an effort to save a collective 618 tons of carbon emissions per day in wasted energy.

Meanwhile, there is a growing number of conscious consumers who are looking to lessen their environmental impact while demanding more transparency from their food and beverage throughout the supply chain.

“Consumers are becoming more aware of the importance of sustainability; according to data reported on Statista, 38 per cent of Australians now always consider the sustainability of items when they shop,” says Wackrow. Initiatives ranging from more efficient factories – its factory in Cochin, India has been zero waste to landfill since 2019 – to a commitment to make all packaging “recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025”, is a major step forward for a multinational of Tata’s size.

Then there’s the question of people power. Sustainability is also about ethical labour and the recent spotlight on poor working conditions has put pressure on brands to make labour issues more transparent. Consumers like to know where their tea is coming from and that the workers who produce it are being treated and paid fairly. Oversight by organisations such as Fairtrade go some way to mitigating abuse, but the intricate nature of the industry, where contracts and sub-contracts are common, can obscure some of the problems.

Still, there’s hope if consumers and retailers continue to hold these issues forward in our thoughts and vote with our purchasing power. The big brands have certainly listened.

“Although we do not own any estates directly, we work to ensure that the farmers that grow our teas are able to make living, the workers have safe working conditions and access to the things they need to live safely and decently,” says Wackrow.

“Where possible we source tea directly from producers. We believe that it is in the interest of the whole tea community to be as transparent as possible about where the tea we use is sourced from. We publish our list of suppliers and have full transparency from bush to cup for each tea we produce.”

So as you raise your cup to International Tea Day today, think about how the liquid that touches your lips has come from the place it was grown and know that the conscious consumption of this beverage can be a powerful gamechanger for many around the world.

Resources: Ethical Tea Partnership

This article originally appeared in AUSTCS enews 21 May 2024.