Unlike coffee, which is mainly grown by independent farmers, tea is primarily a plantation crop. Most plantations are on large estates, which often include a factory where the tea is processed and packed. The main issue here is workers rights – unions are rare, and wages and conditions for tea plantation workers are often poor. We would always therefore recommend tea bearing the fairtrade mark – so that minimum standards of pay, conditions and labour rights for workers are adhered to.
Another issue is one of health and safety – pesticides are used on tea plantations and anecdotal evidence suggests that workers are rarely provided with the proper equipment to handle these chemicals – masks, goggles, gloves etc. By supporting fairtrade tea, certain environmental policies are adhered to. But by going one step further and buying tea that is both fairtrade and organic, you can be sure that this will mean healthier conditions for workers, since they will avoid the problem of dealing with pesticides altogether. It also means a cup of tea guaranteed not to have any pesticide residues for you!
