“We take a unique approach in the tea sector, with local teams ‘on the ground’ in each of the regions we source ingredients from. These teams are our ears and eyes and the main point of contact with the communities,” explained Gilart. Twinings refers to this system as TCNA (Twinings Community Needs Assessment framework), which was developed in consultation with a number of expert organisations, including WaterAid and UNICEF. “Once we understand the needs of the community, then alongside the producer, we can develop an action plan tailored to that community.”
The Twinings Community Needs Assessment framework
The TCNA has 10 focus areas: housing, water and sanitation, labour standards, gender, health and nutrition, children rights, livelihoods, land rights, farming practices and natural resources.
Assessments are carried out every two to three years by Twinings’ Social Impact team and since its pilot launch in 2016, 116 TCNAs have been completed across every key sourcing region; namely, China, India, Indonesia, Kenya and Sri Lanka.
“While conducting a TCNA, I spend most of my time speaking to workers or smallholder farmers,” said Peris Ochieng, Ethical Sourcing Manager, Africa. “I interview women and men separately in small groups or individually, in a familiar, conducive environment, enabling them to freely discuss topics like health, household income and gender attitudes. The first-hand knowledge I gain of needs and priorities is invaluable for our interventions and dialogue with producers.”
Published in its Sourced with Care 2021 report, the TCNA findings revealed several challenges. For example, in China, there are problems associated with sustainability of income, as families cannot depend on tea farming alone. While in Kenya, gender inequality remains a key concern; with insufficient access to health services such as sexual rights and family planning common, the results found increased pressure on family finances due to high fertility rates and also low productivity.3
Sourcing tea responsibly
Twinings does not own any plantations and never has done. Instead, it sources teas and herbs from suppliers and producers around the world. Details of every tea garden and the origins of its herbs can be found on a sourcing
Peris Ochieng, Ethical Sourcing Manager, conducting a TCNA in Kenya
map available via the Sourced with Care website.
“Being open about who and where we buy from is important for enabling collaboration and ultimately tackling some of the industry’s key issues,” explained Gilart.
As a minimum, the tea company only sources from gardens that have been independently certified by organisations such as Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade or UTZ. “While it is a useful tool, certification alone cannot guarantee conditions that we consider acceptable or solve systemic challenges in the sector,” noted Gilart. “This is why, at Twinings, we take a lot of care to buy from places where conditions are better or could be improved. We then work with producers, development NGOs, industry partners, government agencies and local communities to improve conditions and address wider issues affecting workers, farmers and their families.”
The company buys tea from more than 100 estates with which it has long-standing relationships. “It’s a very transparent and collaborative process,” said Gilart. “The herb supply chain, however, is much more challenging, due to the vast array of different herbs we are buying and the small volumes. Having said that, we are working with select suppliers to ensure standards are met and to increase transparency.” The tea business has also recently joined the Sustainable Spices Initiative (SSI) as it recognises that only through collaboration can meaningful change within the herb supply chain be achieved, as it has proven in the tea category. Presently, more than 60 percent of its herbs come from certified sources.
For its remaining suppliers, such as packaging companies, Twinings audits on a risk-based approach and if any shortcomings are identified, it supports them to find a solution.
The global buying team also receives regular training on the company’s Code of Conduct, ethical procurement practices and modern slavery risks and prevention.
Women and girls at risk
According to Twinings’ Sweekriti Pradhan, Ethical Sourcing Executive, India and Sri Lanka, women constitute the majority of the workforce in tea gardens and smallholder farms, yet are at risk of discrimination, harassment and sometimes violence.
In partnership with UNICEF, Twinings has established Adolescent Girls Groups across 63 tea gardens in Assam, India. These groups serve as a protective environment where young women can learn about their rights and safely discuss important issues, such as early marriage, violence, school dropouts and trafficking. A total of 15,041 girls have taken part in life skills development initiatives.
In 2019, Twinings also partnered with the Work and Opportunities for Women Programme, an initiative funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, to train management and build capacity of worker committees in Assam and Darjeeling. The aim is to empower workers to help prevent and respond to harassment and gender-based violence, as well as to promote more gender-equitable attitudes and relationships.
Improving health
In some of the communities within Twinings’ supply chain, adequate healthcare is not always readily available as a result of location. Moreover, “social barriers and cultural norms may make it difficult to access medical services that are available,” explained Kate Harvey, the programme’s Social Impact Executive.
The brand managed to reach more than 40,000 women in Kenya and Darjeeling, India with programmes that raise health awareness and improve access to services.
Twinings is also working with UNICEF in Assam and Save the Children in Yunnan, China to provide children in tea communities the best start in life. Its partners have trained over 1,000 community health workers and reached 43,000 new mothers to provide health and nutrition awareness. This has been supported in India with the training of tea garden hospital staff to help ensure there is skilled attendance at every birth.
Better income and empowerment
A lack of knowledge in tea communities about good farming practices, skills, technology and access to markets can impede income opportunities. Usually, tea only amounts to a portion of the family income and lots of families are dependent on other work; a situation that Twinings has found particularly common in Sri Lanka. As such, it has been supporting additional income generating activities, such as training and upskilling, and has also provided micro loans to 77 individuals.
As part of the Source with Care programme, Twinings has also been working with CARE International for the last four years. The duo has established Community Development Forums (CDFs) on tea estates, which look to make positive change, such as life skills development lessons and education on issues such as household money management and alcohol consumption.
CDFs also provide communities with a safe space to voice local needs such as the provision of a school or better access to government services.
Clean water
For the last decade, Twinings has focused on improving access to water and providing better sanitation for communities on tea estates in North India. In partnership with Mercy Corps, WaterAid, the Indian Tea Association and tea producers, Twinings has built 2,157 toilets, helping around 12,000 people. It has also provided access to clean water for 11,500 people in tea communities by building water systems.
Future goals
In four years’ time, the tea brand has committed to ensuring that all of the tea gardens it sources from will have adequate access to water and sanitation at their living units. It has also announced its pledge to empower an additional 250,000 women and strengthen the resilience and income for 25,000 farming families by 2025.
The company noted the challenge of measuring the impact and outcomes of its programme in the improvement of livelihoods and empowering women, and, as such, will be placing further emphasis on addressing this.
Despite surpassing its four-year goal of improving the lives of half a million people by 2020, the brand admits that due to such a fragmented supply chain and the small volumes involved, it has not made as much progress as hoped within its herbs sourcing. Therefore, it has said it will be focusing on ingredients where it can have the greatest impact and following industry standards for the rest.
To read the report in full, visit:
www.sourcedwithcare.com/media/1650/twinings_sourced-with-care_progress-report-2021.pdf
References
- www.teausa.com/teausa/images/Tea_Fact_2021.pdf
- www.tea.co.uk/tea-faqs
- www.sourcedwithcare.com/media/1650/twinings_sourced-with-care_progress-report-2021.pdf
