Tea Sustainability Survey 2023: progress, apprehension & priority concerns
Image credit: Zhejiang Tea Group/ Firsd Tea
Tea & Coffee Trade Journal and Firsd Tea collaborated on a second tea sustainability survey in 2023, the results of which were published in October. The first story in the two-part series based on the survey assessed respondents’ views on tea sustainability with regard to people and the planet. The second and final story explores sustainability in terms of its impact on people on a more personal level. By Jason Walker
For the second year in a row, Tea & Coffee Trade Journal and Firsd Tea North America conducted their tea sustainability perspectives survey to better understand how professionals within tea and related industries perceived sustainability. They discovered overwhelming apprehension about the risk of climate change on operations, cautious hope for the future, and an under-prioritisation of sustainability when selecting teas to offer consumers. By continuing this survey on an annual basis, the report provides a better, longer range view of patterns and changing trends. This year’s findings have been published in the 2023 Sustainability Perspectives Report and are available online at blog.firsdtea.com/news.
This second installment in the two-article series examines respondents’ perspectives and attitudes towards tea sustainability on a more personal level, ranging from their views on third-party certifications to countries’ individual performances to implications to progress and next steps.
General impressions remain positive
One of the first things to note is the overall positive direction that respondents feel is taking place. As
covered in the previous article in this series, 73 percent of respondents indicated the belief that tea
implements sustainability very well or somewhat well. In comparison, 68 percent believed coffee performed within those same parameters.
Additionally, the sustainability reputations of several producing countries improved. Questions regarding producing countries did not distinguish between the countries’ performance in environmental and social welfare, but instead focused on an overall view of country performance. Japan still remained the leader (96 percent), but remarkable differences did surface from 2022.
Though every country witnessed positive increases among survey-takers, Vietnam (+37 percent), Kenya
(+33 percent), China (+26 percent), and Sri Lanka (+26 percent) saw significant improvements in 2023 from the 2022 study.
Respondents also expressed general optimism in the industry’s sustainability direction. When asked to rank how the tea industry performed with sustainability ten years ago on a scale of one to ten, with one being the worst and ten being the best, the average score was 4.9. This score was 0.9 higher than last year’s average score. Rankings of the tea industry’s current performance was 6.38, up 1.38 points over the 2022 average. Average rankings of how the tea industry will perform ten years from now were also up, from 6.9 in 2022 to 7.79 in 2023.
Areas of concern
While respondents had positive outlooks on some general aspects, their answers also revealed areas of
greater concern. A total of 66 percent of respondents felt that the tea industry did well in improving the
livelihoods of smallholder farmers. Estimates usually put about 60 percent of the world’s tea as coming from smallholders, so a thriving smallholder community is important to the tea industry. In terms of workers’ rights, 64 percent believed the tea industry performed very or somewhat well, and gender equity scored 58 percent.
Image: Firsd Tea
A write-in comments section provided some further elaboration. Respondents noted the importance of smallholders receiving a living income and increased training. Worker protection and welfare are also important considerations for those in processing facilities and migrant harvest workers, though these were not mentioned.
Social welfare concerns and certifications
When asked what standards respondents in tea and related industries were most important to consumers, the results reinforced the previous study – 95 percent said organic certification led the way versus 85 percent in 2022. Non-GMO surpassed Fair Trade as the second most important standard to consumers in the eyes of tea and related industry professionals (81 percent to 68 percent, respectively). Rainforest Alliance (53 percent) remained in fourth place.
Though most respondents remain worried about climate change, they continue to rank ‘sustainability’ as a low-priority factor when selecting teas for their businesses. In 2023, respondents still listed flavour (96 percent), leaf grade (91 percent) and origin/terroir (90 percent) as the top three characteristics that contributed to their decisions to stock particular tea types.
Implications
The report paints a largely positive picture of overall tea industry sustainability progress. Respondents tend to feel that improvements are being made both overall and in the perception of particular producing countries. They also remain generally optimistic about the future. However, the report points to key areas for further action and research.
- Continued surveys will help reveal industry trends and shifts. While corporate sustainability reports and sustainability certifications provide more of the ‘harder’ metrics on gaps and progress, the perspectives report continues to provide the ‘softer’ metrics that indicate motivations and readiness for change. As such, the survey has become a
barometer for the industry to assess readiness and acceptance of change within the overall tea product ecosystem. - Human welfare concerns are voiced less frequently, or less distinctly. The survey asked respondents about the tea industry’s performance in poverty reduction and investment in safe and caring communities, but favourable and unfavourable views were fairly evenly split. That does not necessarily suggest all tea-producing countries or regions are lagging in these areas. Tea producers are presented here with an opportunity to show and tell consumers how their work develops local communities and promotes economic sustainability at origin.
- Tea’s contributions along the spectrum of sustainable human development can be given greater prominence. Across different parts of the globe, the tea industry is contributing to ending poverty and providing clean water. In other, more established areas, the tea farmers are improving their lives with access to better education for their children. Still other places are addressing gender inequality and social justice issues. While these sustainability goals can occur in tandem and may not be completely inseparable, they can be presented on a spectrum of more life-essential up to a higher-order development. The opportunity to better understand human welfare gains (and regressions) along the spectrum are important, along with the varying needs and situations of individual producing countries.
While the previous article’s view on environmental sustainability issues emphasised bridging gaps between retailers’ and consumers’ priorities, the concerns of human welfare suggest a greater onus on retailers and those upstream to give richer accounts of the importance (and impact) of sustainability on human welfare across the global tea industry. Tea farms across various countries, and even regions within countries, need a wider range of sustainability solutions to tackle poverty, equality, economic infrastructure, and more. In fact, multiple sectors of agriculture are sounding alarm bells on the topic of fair and living wages for farmers, so farmer livelihood will likely become a topic that receives greater
attention.
Firsd Tea and the Tea & Coffee Trade Journal would like to thank all of the members of the tea, coffee, and cocoa industries who contributed to the survey. A diverse range of respondents from across the world and across the supply chains provided us with their distinctive insights. It is our hope that the survey report continues to spark change and dialogue on the importance of sustainability practices as they affect the future of these global industries and their consumers.
- Jason Walker is marketing director of Firsd Tea North America. Prior to his work with Firsd Tea, Walker served in a variety of roles in tea and beverage business capacities. His experience includes business services for small tea companies, a top-ranked online destination for tea consumer education and co-founding a coffee business. His insights draw upon his diverse range of experience in sales, operations and management in the tea world. He may be reached at: [email protected]
