OUR MISSION:

To end sexual violence against women on tea plantations.

Do you know the true cost of your tea?

The tea industry has been hiding a dark secret.

On the surface, it may just look like a comforting cuppa but in the milky depths, your brew is hiding an uncomfortable truth.

As exposed by BBC Africa, up to 3 out of 4 women working on tea plantations live in fear of sexual violence and exploitation. This means the tea many of us enjoy comes at a devastating cost to women's safety.

That's why Typhoo is taking a targeted approach…

THE FUTURE IS
FEAR FREE TEA

Our vision is a world where women working on tea plantations are free from the fear of sexual violence.

Change is brewing

Change is

brewing

Is your tea part of the solution?

Tea shouldn't cost an arm and a leg, and it definitely shouldn't come at the cost of women's safety.

We’ve made massive changes to the way we source and deliver our brand-new blend. It's our first step towards a brighter future, where no one else pays the price for a Typhoo brew.

Handpicking our tea suppliers

From hundreds to a handful of trusted growers who put women’s safety first.

Where we used to buy our tea leaves from hundreds of plantations, now we’re sourcing a better solution from a select few. These pioneering partners in Kenya and Malawi share our vision for a Fear Free tea industry - and that means prioritising women’s safety.

Giving Typhoo a new purpose

We’re running a tight ship at Typhoo so a portion of our profits can fund the fear free mission.

Working with pioneering plantations means paying a bit more for tea - for us. We’re putting our money where our mouth is, streamlining our processes behind the scenes so that your cuppa remains as affordable as ever - for you.

Launching the Fear Free Council

Bringing together growers and experts to lead the industry’s first Fear Free initiatives.

Our profits support projects on plantations that directly impact women’s well-being and work to eradicate sexual violence. These initiatives are carefully curated by the Fear Free Council - a partnership between Typhoo, industry experts and plantations.

Fear Free Council?

Typhoo’s 6 sourcing principles

1

Prioritise women's safety:

We source from farms that prioritise women's safety using pioneering frameworks, covering financial commitment, accountability for human rights issues and complete transparency.

2

Select long-term partners:

Sourcing from a small number of partners ensures high volume and long-term partnerships, protecting their businesses and workers during challenging times, and continuously improving.

3

Maintain direct relationships:

Direct relationships allow us to fully understand the scale of our partners' problems and collaborate on solutions.

4

Establish fair agreements:

Setting up agreements with fair prices and paying above market price enables our partners to care for their workers and tea communities.

5

Invest in women's safety:

We commit to funding long-term initiatives on our partner plantations that work to prevent sexual violence and support the victim-survivors.

6

Ensure quality tea:

Quality tea means higher prices and therefore better conditions for the people who grow and pick our leaves.

Brits drink a whopping 100 million cups of tea every day. That’s enough to fill more than 200 double-decker buses!

Feeling like a small drop in a big brew?

Feeling like a

small drop in

a big brew?

Every cuppa

COUNTS!

Every cup is a step closer to our goal of ending sexual violence in the tea industry. Choose your brew in the fight for Fear Free tea.

Your brew is doing a world of good

Your brew is doing

a world of good

Take a look at some of the important initiatives your cuppa is supporting to tackle the root causes of gender based violence and harassment and make work a whole lot safer for women on our partner plantations.

Knowledge is Power Against Sexual Violence

Every two years, new worker committees are elected within the tea plantations. Through a comprehensive 3-day human rights training program, all committee members elected this year, over five hundred men and women, are now equipped with the knowledge and tools to recognise and address all forms of workplace violations. This not only means that they will be able to recognise instances of sexual violence and support survivors, but also that they will pass this knowledge on to other workers.

Empowering Women to Lead the Way

Gender inequality is both a cause and a consequence of gender based violence and harassment. This leadership and mentoring programme for a hundred current supervisors and aspiring leaders has a two-phase approach: 2 days of intensive training on management and leadership skills followed by follow-up monthly mentoring sessions over the following 6 months. With the necessary skills and confidence of an effective leader, they will be agents of change within the plantation as well as a role model for other female workers.

All of our initiatives are designed alongside the top management and the social welfare teams in our partner plantations to reinforce and complement their ongoing efforts to make work for all tea workers fear free.

We have pledged $500,000 to make women safe.

This is just the beginning. Watch this space to see other exciting projects we have coming up!