Bewley's

Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.

Last researched 3 November 2026 · 6 sources

Family-owned Dublin tea and coffee company.

Bewley's can't show that the people who grow its tea in India and Kenya earn a living wage, which workers there are very unlikely to.

Also worth knowing

It has no full independent audit.

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Why it's graded Lacks transparency

Not met: Meets 1 of 5 Good requirements.
Holds the grade back: It has 2 red flags: no evidence of a living wage and unaudited production in high-risk countries. Two or more red flags means a poor grade.
It isn't Harm on record, because there's no serious confirmed problem on its record.
Lacks transparency is still a poor grade: in supply chains like this, workers who can't be seen to be treated fairly are usually underpaid or unprotected.

How grades are decided

Good requirements 1 of 5

Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
Not met: Respects worker rightsMost of its tea is grown in India, China and Indonesia, where unions are heavily restricted, and it has no full supply chain audit.
Not met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standards
Met: No child or forced labour findings or links
Not met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that list

Red flags 2

Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
Red flag: Made mostly in countries with poor worker rights, without a full independent audit of its supply chain

Stars it would earn as Good

None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars

Accreditations 1

Certified B CorpSupportive: it counts in its favour but isn't proof on its own.

Estimates for its products

Our rules applied to one kind of product at a time, using Bewley's evidence and, where it has product lines, that line's countries. They're estimates: we don't know which factory made any single item.

A product carrying the Fairtrade mark: Good

Holding one? Scan its barcode for an estimate that uses its care label or ingredients.

Where its tea is grown

Bewley's names some of the countries its tea comes from: India and Kenya. The rest is shown as where tea is usually grown.

Where its tea is grown, and conditions there
Country	Worker rights	Legal minimum wage	Forced labour risk
India	No guarantee of rights	Well below a living wage	High
Kenya	Systematic violations	Well below a living wage	Moderate
Sri LankaUsual for the industry	Systematic violations	Well below a living wage	Moderate
ChinaUsual for the industry	No guarantee of rights	Below a living wage	Moderate
MalawiUsual for the industry	Strong protections	Far below a living wage	Moderate
IndonesiaUsual for the industry	No guarantee of rights	Well below a living wage	Moderate

Evidence

What we found

Risk across the industry, not a finding about this company: tea estate wages in Assam, Sri Lanka and Kenya are among the lowest of any export crop, often paid partly in kind (housing, rations).

Research notes All Bewley's branded coffee is Fairtrade, but only some of its teas, such as Special Blend from a single Mount Kenya garden, carry the Fairtrade mark; its Irish Breakfast tea blends Assam and Darjeeling teas from India. Origins of its other teas and any shares by country are not disclosed. It publishes no tea supplier list, audit results or living wage commitment. It became a Certified B Corp in 2024 with a score of 94.1. No labour abuses linked to its tea suppliers have been reported.

What independent sources say

Source	Result	Details
B Corp directory	Certified	Bewley's Tea & Coffee has been a Certified B Corp since July 2024, with a score of 94.1. View
Fairtrade (incl. FLOCERT and Fairtrade ANZ)	Unclear	All Bewley's branded coffee is Fairtrade, but only some of its teas carry the Fairtrade mark. View

Sources and actions

Sources 6

Show all 6 sources

Bewley's Tea & Coffee (B Lab directory) · search the archive · Certified B Corp since July 2024, score 94.1; HQ County Dublin
Bewley's: If it's not Fairtrade, it's not good enough (Fairtrade) · search the archive · All Bewley's branded coffee is Fairtrade; first Irish Fairtrade supplier in 1997
Bewley's celebrates 25 years of Fairtrade (Shelflife) · search the archive · Special Blend Fairtrade tea from a single Mount Kenya garden

Published by Bewley's or its owner

Bewley's Irish Breakfast Tea · search the archive · Blend of Assam and Darjeeling teas harvested in India; no certification shown
Bewley's Today · search the archive · Independent, family-owned business serving Ireland, UK and USA
Bewley's shipping policy · search the archive · Ships worldwide from Dublin, including rest-of-world destinations such as Australia

Company details

Owned by: Campbell Bewley Group (family-owned)
Headquarters: Ireland
Last researched: 3 November 2026
Cite this page: Labour Lens, "Is Bewley's ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/bewleys, last researched 3 November 2026, accessed [date].
Method: Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means

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