Tea drinkers increasingly want to enjoy their cup of tea knowing that it has been produced in a way that respects the environment and the tea growers and pickers. Tetley has a desire to become a truly sustainable business and has therefore committed to obtaining Rainforest Alliance certification for the Tetley brand.

We want to help create a sustainable global tea industry and we believe that working closely with organisations such as Rainforest Alliance is one effective way of achieving this.

Why has Tetley chosen Rainforest Alliance as a certification partner? 

We believe that the approach taken by Rainforest Alliance is best able to support the Tetley brand. The sustainable sourcing guarantees offered through Rainforest Alliance certification are the best fit with our overall sustainability strategy that seeks to address both social and environmental issues. 

What exactly does the Rainforest Alliance do?

Founded in 1987, the Rainforest Alliance is an international not-for-profit organisation that works to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behaviour.

The Rainforest Alliance works in over 60 countries with people whose livelihoods depend on the land, helping them transform the way they grow food, harvest wood and host travellers. The organisation works with businesses and consumers worldwide in their efforts to bring responsibly produced goods and services to a global marketplace, To date, the organisation has helped conserve the water, soil and biodiversity of more than 50 million hectares of forest and farmland in 68 countries and improved the lives of more than 2 million workers and their families. You can find out more about the Rainforest Alliance by visiting their website www.rainforest-alliance.org

When will Rainforest Alliance Certified Tetley products be available?

All of Tetley’s branded black, green and red tea, including our flavoured and decaffeinated varieties, will be part of the Rainforest Alliance certification programme, which is scheduled for completion by 2016. The first certified products will be available for the UK foodservice channel from April 2010. We then aim to have the first packs of Rainforest Alliance CertifiedTM tea on supermarket shelves by April 2011. Between now and then, a comprehensive programme of work will be carried out by Rainforest Alliance to certify the estates that we source from and ensure that adequate volumes of certified tea are available to purchase.

What about our membership of the ETP?

Tetley remains an active member of the ETP. The ETP is working with Rainforest Alliance to help estates achieve Rainforest Alliance certification and this will facilitate the launch of our Tetley certified products.