At Tetley, we bring you a warm and comforting world with every cup of our finest blends. We strive towards creating not merely the perfect brew but also a sustainable environment and better lives for our farmers.
Tetley is one of the founding members of the Ethical Tea Partnership, committed to improve the conditions of farmers growing our tea around the world. The ETP works with a vision to create a socially just, environmentally sustainable and thriving tea industry.
Over the last three years, ETP has been working on a partnership program with UNICEF in Assam that has been a great success. Together, we have:
- Improved the safety of over 35,000 girls across Assam by equipping them with essential skills to reduce the risk of violence, abuse and exploitation
- Trained 1,000 front line staff including local police and social workers across Assam on child protection issues to build trust between tea communities and local agencies and keep them safe
- Formed 300 Child Protection Committees (CPCs) across tea communities in Assam to protect children against trafficking and unsafe migration. The CPCs also intervene to secure the safe return of children engaged in exploitative labour and provide counsel to families that might be considering early marriage of their daughters.
Together with UNICEF and ETP we are now launching a second phase of the programme called “Improving the lives of women and children in Assam’s tea communities”.
The second phase of the programme marks a significant scale up in the programme which will be reaching double the amount of tea communities. We will be working with more than 200 estates, a quarter of all tea estates in Assam. As we aim to reach over 150,000 children and young people this will be one of the largest programmes of its kind in Assam.
Together we will tackle some of the most challenging issues affecting women and children, including healthcare, child development and nutrition, water, sanitation, hygiene, education and child protection. We will continue to improve the safety and lives of women and children living in Assam’s tea communities.
We are one of the founding signatories of the Women, Children and Families’ in Assam Commitment – to find out more please follow the link below: