The international tea industry has grown an extreme interest in the topic of sustainability, but there remain many uncertainties as to how sustainability is achieved. In this article series we will look at the factors involved with tea sustainability and propose some solutions for ensuring future sustainability. In the previous article, issues and consequences in regards to environmental sustainability were discussed. In this article we will look at the interaction of people and society and the role they play with tea and how it affects sustainability.
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, sustainable means “able to be used without being completely used up or destroyed.” Applied to the tea industry it means that the industry will be able to continue to operate without being destroyed.
Although tea, or Camellia sinensis, is a natural product that grows in the soil, processed tea is ultimately made by man. The world’s growing thirst for tea is supported by entire communities of people that dedicate their life and lifestyle to growing and making tea. Traditionally, tea was processed in small batches by individual families to be consumed by those same families or by the local community. The rapid growth in demand for tea through international trade developed the need for a larger infrastructure of tea growing and tea making.
All tea growing regions have their own style of infrastructure and management. The one that is the most prevalent around the world is the plantation system which was modeled after the American plantation system which is no longer existent since slavery was outlawed after the Civil War. The famous tea estates of India and Sri Lanka are extremely large tea fields and tea processing factory that employ thousands and thousands of employees. The objective of this style of agriculture and food production is quantity.
Although the demand for tea has increased, the market has been flooded with large quantities of low-quality tea that is traded as a commodity, where buyers are always looking for a lower price. Static or lower market prices force these plantations to operate on extremely low margins. The easiest expense to control is labor, which is why wages on these plantations are low and the government has mandated that the estate offer additional social services such as food, health care, and education. Communities of thousands of people are born into lives as tea farm workers and are 100% dependent upon the estate providing the needs they have for their families. This system can be defined as indentured slavery. Either the consumer will not support this system or the government will require changes to increase the standard of living of these communities. In either case, this form of business is not sustainable and tea producers will have to seek alternative methods for producing low-priced commodity tea.
Labor sustainability is not an issue seen in just the commodity tea industry, it is also prevalent in specialty tea production. Harvesting and handling tea leaves is a labor-intensive activity that requires high skill and experience. Skilled tea farm workers in countries like China and Taiwan are in high demand, but limited in quantity. Tea farmers and tea producers find it more and more difficult every year to hire tea farm workers to harvest their tea affordably and with high skill. Younger people that have grown a liking for the city life are refusing to work in the fields and the cost of labor continues to rise. If the market price of high-quality tea does not grow with this rising labor cost, it will be difficult for tea producers to continue making the leaf we all so much.
Communities that have been growing and processing tea for several generations are the holders of some of the richest cultural heritage in the world. If the sustainability of tea production is at risk, so too is the sustainability of this heritage. This concerns not only tea but also pride and a connection to a community’s history. Growing and producing tea may be a major element of that community’s identity and be what holds people together. This is not to say that the community may not evolve and remained united, but it is unpredictable. The market is putting the heritage of these communities at risk, all for the sake of cheap tea.
If we don’t support the people and communities that make our tea, then there will be no tea. This is why it is important for all of us to think about and contribute to the sustainability of the tea industry.
So far have looked at the importance of a healthy environment and healthy society for tea; next, we will look at the economics.
Comparing the plantation system to indentured slavery certainly gets the point across. Is it possible to eliminate the commodity type of tea all together or is that just not realistic? It sounds like it will require higher prices for these teas to enable the workers to earn a fair wage. Not sure how much more specialty tea actually costs and sells for, per tea bag.
So how do we get the message across that commodity tea companies, like Tetley, who also are hawking premium teas, need to be challenged. I assume this is the type of huge tea company that you’re alluding to……?
You bring up a tough question. I don’t necessarily think that a higher price for the tea is going to fix the issue. It’s much deeper than that. I don’t have an answer, but I have the will to share this knowledge and support independent tea growers that are working and building for themselves.
Like every business or industry, being small doesn’t necessarily, emphasis on necessarily, equate to fair, right, and sometimes just the opposite. Trying always to buy from companies who are certified Fair Trade and organic and reading constantly about the industry, the plight of workers, demonitization and how it has affected workers’, etc., it seems to me that beyond attempting to support workers rights by how we source and purchase tea, we should also address the fact that at the retail level, even at a single store level, certain organizations want to put more layers of fees on in order to label tea organic or Fair Trade by moving it from bulk packaging to retail packaging, which adds absolutely nothing to the original source individual tea worker’s income or quality of life, so far as I can determine. If a country determines that tea growing land is more valuable with another use, we have seen tea growers being forced to give up generational farms that were their livelihood. And, at the very end point of the farm to store journey, it is discouraging and frustrating to see consumers, and even bloggers, write about and support the tea selections from huge retail companies on a regular basis because of slick marketing, and/or continue to buy dust and fannings because they are ‘cheaper’ (not really cheaper at all). We are up against what all other industries face as well: The realities and inequities of life. This entire subject very much bothers me and I often post on it on my business Facebook: I call it ‘the cry of the laborers’.
The necessity to have tea bags is tied up with the American consumer wanting everything to be easy. Like putting whole leaf tea into a suitable strainer is just too much effort. Some of it is lack of knowledge and some is just laziness. If consumers became aware of the fact that by buying whole leaf tea, they were supporting tea laborers, that might make a difference for some. I hadn’t really thought of it that way before. There are many conscientious consumers who seek out Fair Trade, for example, as a way to support workers. This would be another option without fees or certification of any sort required. Thanks for giving me something to think about Diane.