The Rainforest Alliance and the Ethical Tea Partnership Announce Major Collaboration
London – The tea industry took a significant step closer to sustainability today as the
international conservation organisation Rainforest Alliance and the Ethical Tea Partnership
(ETP) unveiled an agreement that will further their vision of an industry-wide commitment to
sustainable agriculture. The move will streamline the Rainforest Alliance certification process
and complement the monitoring work the ETP undertakes against its own Standard. It will see
many tea producers make the necessary improvements to achieve Rainforest Alliance
certification, thus helping brands meet consumer demand for certified products.
The collaboration between the Rainforest Alliance and the ETP will build capacity within the tea
industry to tackle sustainability issues from the grassroots upwards and through to certification.
The organisations are jointly developing a programme to train producers in how to use ETP
monitoring and self assessment tools as a key step should they decide to pursue Rainforest
Alliance certification The training will help producers learn about standards, internal organisation
and farm management practices, introducing the concept of continual improvement to get
producers on the path toward sustainability. Once farmers have achieved the standards
required for Rainforest Alliance certification, they can choose to be certified and leverage their
accomplishment by using the Rainforest Alliance Certified™ mark.
“This is the first time that we have worked with an industry body at this level. Together, the
Rainforest Alliance and the ETP will be able to support a much wider range of producers and
increase the potential for positive impact across the tea sector,” said Tensie Whelan, president
of the Rainforest Alliance. “This innovative commitment will positively change the tea industry,
and significantly drive it towards sustainability.”
ETP recently announced that it was working with certifiers and NGOs to streamline the
certification process for tea estates and support producers to implement sustainable change.
“ETP collaborates with organisations that we feel can make a real difference to the sustainability
of the tea sector,” said ETP executive director, Sarah Roberts. “Working with the Rainforest
Alliance will increase the number of estates that implement and maintain positive environmental
and social practices. Brands work together on sustainability through ETP, so this is a very
effective way of meeting rising consumer demand for certified products.”
In the first year of collaboration, ETP and Rainforest Alliance will work together to assist tea
farmers in important tea-growing countries such as India, Kenya, Malawi and Indonesia. The
first initiative is scheduled for September in Assam where ETP and RA staff will be carrying out
joint needs assessments on estates preparing for RA certification.
The Ethical Tea Partnership share a vision for a thriving tea sector that is socially just and
environmentally sustainable. ETP has been monitoring conditions on tea estates for 12 years
and has unrivalled expertise on tea and sustainability. ETP’s network of Regional Managers in
India, China, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Africa work with producers and partner organisations to
embed sustainable change across the tea sector. For more information about ETP, including the
recent announcement about their new way of working, visit: www.ethicalteapartnership.org.
The Rainforest Alliance works with tea farms of all sizes; farms that have gained Rainforest
Alliance certification have met rigorous environmental, social, and economic standards. These
standards are set by the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) a coalition of local conservation
organisations that first set the standard for sustainable farming in rainforest areas in the early
1990s. Farms have to prove that they have made positive changes in areas such as pest
management, tree planting, use of renewable resources and workers’ rights – including access
to education and healthcare.
Sustainable agriculture is at the centre of the Rainforest Alliance’s efforts to conserve
ecosystems by protecting healthy soils, rivers, and wildlife and by promoting dignified living
conditions for farm workers and neighbouring rural communities. The Rainforest Alliance
Certified™ seal assures consumers that the products they are buying have been produced
and/or manufactured according to a specific set of criteria balancing ecological, economic, and
social considerations. The Rainforest Alliance currently certifies over twenty crops, including
coffee, cocoa, bananas, tea, citrus, ferns, and cut flowers. For more information, visit:
www.rainforest-alliance.org.
Contacts:
ETP: Dr Norman Kelly, +44 (0)7817 242294
Rainforest Alliance: Mercedes Tallo, e. [email protected], m. +44 (0)7920 563873