Fairtrade Tea
Fairtrade certified tea was, along with coffee, the first Fairtrade product introduced in to the Australian and New Zealand market back in October 2003.
Fairtrade Certification for Tea means that:
- The garden where the tea is grown meets specific criteria for the wages, living situation, and working conditions of its pickers.
- The tea is directly purchased from the plantation or co-operative.
- The price paid for Fairtrade tea should cover the production costs in addition to a Fairtrade Premium of 50 cents to US$1 per kilo on top of the market price.
- For every tea purchase, this Fairtrade Premium goes directly back to the tea pickers themselves. For plantations, a committee called a Joint Body, elected by the workers, decides how these funds will be used to meet the community's needs. Both tea cooperatives and plantations have used the Fairtrade Premiums to hire school teachers, build maternal health clinics, and bring electricity to their villages, among other projects.
For More Information on Fairtrade Tea see the FLO website here.
Read this response to a claim by Dilmah founder that "Fairtrade is a farce".
More coming on Fairtrade tea soon.
You can search our 'Where To Buy' database to find suppliers of Fairtrade tea in Australia and New Zealand