BOH Tea
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 30 October 2026 · 4 sources
Malaysian tea grower selling black tea from its Cameron Highlands estates.
There's no proof the people who grow its tea earn more than the legal minimum, which in Malaysia is below a living wage, and BOH Tea 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 a hidden, unaudited supply chain 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.
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 countries such as Malaysia and India, 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: Hidden supply chain, mostly in countries with poor worker rights
| Star | Awarded for |
|---|---|
| Finds and fixes problems, or invests in communities |
Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Estimates for its products
Our rules applied to one kind of product at a time, using BOH Tea'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
BOH Tea names some of the countries its tea comes from: Malaysia. The rest is shown as where tea is usually grown.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Malaysia | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| IndiaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
| KenyaUsual for the industry | 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).
- Grows its crop on its own farms or estates
- Invests in worker and farming communities
Research notes BOH grows its tea on its own four plantations in Malaysia, mainly in the Cameron Highlands, and processes it at its Fairlie and Bukit Cheeding factories, producing almost 3 million kg a year; it does not say whether any blends use bought-in or imported tea. Its estates hold Malaysia's myGAP farm certification, but it publishes nothing on wages, worker numbers, migrant workers or audits. Cameron Highlands plantations rely heavily on Indonesian, Bangladeshi and Nepalese migrant workers, some undocumented and tied to employer permits.
Sources and actions
Sources 4
Show all 4 sources
- In Cameron Highlands, business depends on foreign workers (Free Malaysia Today, 2019) · search the archive · 5,000-7,000 foreign workers, mostly Indonesian, Bangladeshi and Nepalese; tea plantation pay RM1,300-1,500; undocumented hiring and permit ties
Published by BOH Tea or its owner
- BOH Tea home page · search the archive · BOH Plantations, since 1929; almost 3 million kg of tea a year; tea gardens in the Cameron Highlands including Sungei Palas and the 465-hectare BOH Tea Garden
- BOH Sustainabilitea: Certification · search the archive · myGAP certification for all four plantations since 2013; FSSC 22000, MeSTI, MSPO and Halal
- BOH Sustainabilitea: Commitments · search the archive · Own estates and Bukit Cheeding and Fairlie factories; mechanisation to ease workers' physical burden; support for Orang Asli communities and local schools
Company details
- Owned by
- BOH Plantations Sdn Bhd
- Headquarters
- Malaysia
- Last researched
- 30 October 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is BOH Tea ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/boh-tea, last researched 30 October 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
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