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In 2000, Choice Organic Teas became
the first tea crafter to adopt Fair Trade Certified
tea in the United States.
Choice Organic Teas partnered
with Fair Trade USA to write the guidelines that
established a Fair Trade Certification process
for the tea industry, as the hierarchy of the
tea estate owner/manager to the worker who plucks
the tea differs greatly than from the coffee
industry. Fair Trade USA previously established
Fair Trade certification in the United States
for the coffee industry in 1999. Fair Trade
certification addresses the injustices of conventional
trade, which traditionally discriminates against
the poorest workers in economically developing
or third-world countries. Products from economically
developed countries such as Japan and the United
States cannot qualify for Fair Trade certification.
Today, more than half of Choice
Organic Teas' offerings are Fair Trade Certified,
far surpassing the numbers of any other tea
company in the United States. While we are proud
of that, we’d be a lot happier if more
tea companies joined us in this effort.
On many traditional estates, tea
workers live on the estate and toil long, hard
hours for extremely low wages. The development
of Fair Trade Certified tea standards guarantees
fair wages, respectable living and working conditions,
and a worker-managed premium. This premium represents
additional funds, which are paid by Fair Trade
registered importers like Choice Organic Teas
directly to tea workers. It empowers them to
improve their own lives. The workers collectively
decide how they wish to manage the Fair Trade
funds.
Here’s how some worker
communities have chosen to use the Fair Trade
premiums received in part by the purchase of
Choice Organic Teas.
Empowering Women
The women who pluck tea on the Korakundah Tea
Estate, in the famed Nilgiri region of India,
use the funds received from Fair Trade premiums
to help support themselves upon retirement.
Now, retired tea pluckers receive a monthly
pension and funds to help build a home when
they return to settle in their native villages.
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The Next Generation
Workers at the United Nilgiri Tea Estate
in India chose to use funds received from
Fair Trade premiums to purchase a school
bus, allowing students to continue their
education through the 12th grade. Previously,
children who lived in the neighboring village
amid hilly terrain were able to attend school
only at a local elementary school. But due
to their deep poverty, there was no money
for transportation, and the children could
not attend any advanced grades. Now, local
children are bussed to a school where they
are taught both English and the local Tamil
language. |
Social Empowerment
The tea workers at the Koslanda Tea Estate,
in Sri Lanka, have voted to use Fair Trade premiums
to provide their community with low interest
loans that would otherwise be unattainable.
Households have purchased propane stovetops,
eliminating hours of collecting firewood, improving
the indoor air quality of their homes, and preventing
deforestation of the surrounding area. The purchase
of sewing machines has meant a diversification
of income.
Emergency Assistance
The tea estate workers who produce our organic White Tea have chosen
to use their premium to provide scholarships
to estate children who want to attend university.
The premiums also are dispensed to tea workers
and their families in need of emergency surgery
beyond the means of the local estate hospital.
Continuing Education
The workers with the Bergandal Boerdery collective
who harvest native Rooibos in the perfect growing
conditions of South Africa use the funds received
from Fair Trade premiums to guarantee the sustainability
of their existing community programs. Classes
currently encompass HIV/AIDS education, first
aid treatment, and life skills training for
women.
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