FMCG giant Unilever has revealed its list of global tea suppliers in a bid to eradicate modern-day slavery on plantations.
A campaign led by advocacy group, Traidcraft Exchange, called on tea firms to reveal this data to improve working conditions and salaries for these employees in India, where most tea pickers receive below minimum wage and are living in poverty.
The food group buys 10 per cent of the world’s tea supply.
“Unilever’s decision to publish its global supplier list gives the women who pick the tea we drink more power to push for better pay and conditions, wherever they work,” Traidcraft Exchange’s policy adviser Tom Wills said. “Making the supplier list public means tea workers can complain directly to a global brand when standards fall short of what is being advertised to western consumers.”
In 2017, Unilever bought the organic herbal tea company, Pukka Herbs, adding to its growing list of FMCG brands including Sir Kensington’s Mayonnaise and the Grom and Talenti gelato.
