Çaykur
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 30 October 2026 · 5 sources
Turkish state-owned tea company selling black tea from the Black Sea coast.
There's no proof the people who grow its tea earn more than the legal minimum, which in Türkiye is below a living wage, and Çaykur has no full independent audit.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 2 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.
Good requirements 2 of 5
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
- Not met: Respects worker rights85% of its tea is grown in countries such as Türkiye 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
- Met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that listRuns its own factories
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
Estimates for its products
Our rules applied to one kind of product at a time, using Çaykur'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
From Çaykur's own disclosure: it runs its own factories and says where its tea comes from. Its list covers only part of its range. The rest is shown as where tea is usually grown.
| Country | Share | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Türkiye | 70% | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Very high |
| IndiaUsual for the industry | 9% | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
| KenyaUsual for the industry | 8% | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Sri LankaUsual for the industry | 6% | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| ChinaUsual for the industry | 5% | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| MalawiUsual for the industry | 1% | Strong protections | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| IndonesiaUsual for the industry | 1% | 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).
- Owns or runs its own production
Research notes Çaykur buys fresh leaf from about 209,000 smallholder growers in Rize, Trabzon, Artvin and Giresun-Ordu and processes it in its own 49 factories; it also imports some dried tea but gives no origins or volumes. Leaf is picked by farming families and seasonal migrant workers, and in 2026 Iranian tea pickers in Rize reported being beaten after demanding unpaid wages from a labour contractor; Çaykur was not named. It publishes no human rights policy, supplier audits or checks on harvest workers' pay and conditions.
Sources and actions
Sources 5
Show all 5 sources
- ÇAYKUR 2024 Faaliyet Raporu (annual report) · search the archive · 49 fresh tea factories; 208,966 growers in Rize, Trabzon, Artvin, Giresun-Ordu; 783,484 t leaf bought in 2024; 6,554 staff; some imported dried tea; organic leaf 39,467 t
- ÇAYKUR fabrika sayısını 49'a çıkardı (Ekonomim) · search the archive · Two new Rize factories took Çaykur to 49 factories
- Without Georgian migrants, Turkish tea farmers buckle (Eurasianet, 2020) · search the archive · Çaykur is state-owned and under Türkiye's sovereign wealth fund since 2017; harvest relies on Georgian migrant pickers; daily purchase quotas
- Iranian seasonal workers in Turkey allegedly beaten after demanding unpaid wages (Stockholm Center for Freedom, 2026) · search the archive · Iranian tea pickers in Çayeli, Rize, paid 1,100 lira a day and allegedly beaten after demanding wages; Çaykur not named
- Çaykur Filiz Turkish tea 500g (Ubuy Australia) · search the archive · Çaykur tea sold online with delivery to Australia
Company details
- Owned by
- Türkiye Wealth Fund
- Headquarters
- Türkiye
- Employees
- About 6,554
- Last researched
- 30 October 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Çaykur ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/caykur, last researched 30 October 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
Better-graded tea
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Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Çaykur.