"Twinings reveals suppliers amid drive for slave-free Indian tea", 13 August 2018

Tea firm Twinings published a list of the Indian plantations it buys from on Monday, citing the need for transparency to improve conditions in an industry experts say is rife with abuse.

India’s tea industry, the world’s second largest, employs 3.5 million workers and studies have found many live in appalling conditions, below the poverty line...

The British charity [Traidcraft Exchange] launched the campaign ‘Who picked my tea?’ to bring about change for plantation workers in Assam through increased transparency.

Bettys & Taylors Group, which owns brands including Yorkshire Tea, in June became the first major British company to publish their full list of tea suppliers.

“Twinings’ move puts pressure on the other big tea brands – PG Tips, Tetley, Typhoo, and Clipper - to follow suit and publish their lists of suppliers in full,” said Fiona Gooch, a senior policy advisor at Traidcraft Exchange.

It comes as major brands face mounting regulatory and consumer pressure to ensure their products are free of slavery and abusive practices.