DAVIDsTEA
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 3 November 2026 · 5 sources
Montreal tea retailer selling its own loose-leaf blends and teaware.
DAVIDsTEA 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.
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 rightsSome 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 partly 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 DAVIDsTEA'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
DAVIDsTEA names some of the countries its tea comes from: China, India, Japan, Kenya, Malawi, Nepal, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Vietnam. The rest is shown as where tea is usually grown.
| 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 Lanka | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| China | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Malawi | Strong protections | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| Japan | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| Nepal | Regular violations | Below a living wage | Low |
| Rwanda | Regular violations | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| Taiwan | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| Vietnam | Systematic violations | Well 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).
- Modern slavery statement
Research notes DAVIDsTEA buys tea, accessories and packaging through suppliers in Austria, Canada, China, Germany, India, Japan, Kenya, Malawi, Mexico, Nepal, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Vietnam and the US, with no shares given; the tea-growing countries are shown. Its 2024 report under Canada's forced labour law names child labour, low pay and migrant labour as tea risks and says its Camellia tea suppliers are in the Ethical Tea Partnership, but it publishes no audit results, holds no Fairtrade or Rainforest Alliance certification and has no living wage target. It does not ship to Australia.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Listed | Company profile lists no allegations and no response requests; it is tagged in the Centre's 2021 tea supply chain survey. View |
| Fairtrade (incl. FLOCERT and Fairtrade ANZ) | Not listed | Its 2024 supply chain report names no Fairtrade or Rainforest Alliance certification for its teas. View |
| Australian Modern Slavery Register | Not covered | No Australian operations, so it is not required to report under Australia's Modern Slavery Act; it reports under Canada's supply chains law instead. View |
| US Department of Labor goods lists | Listed | Tea from India, one of its named sourcing countries, is on the 2024 US Department of Labor list of goods made with forced labour. View |
Sources and actions
Sources 5
Show all 5 sources
- DAVIDsTEA - Business & Human Rights Resource Centre · search the archive · No allegations or response requests recorded; tagged 2021 tea supply chain survey
- 2024 List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor - US DOL · search the archive · Tea from India listed for forced labour
- DAVIDsTEA Returns to Profitability in Fiscal 2025 (Newsfile, April 2026) · search the archive · 21 Canadian stores at January 2026; sells online, on Amazon and through Canadian and US grocery stockists
Published by DAVIDsTEA or its owner
- DAVIDsTEA Statement Against Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking (FY ended Feb 2024) · search the archive · Sourcing countries listed; tea risks named; ETP supplier lists; no cases found; no audit numbers or wage targets
- Where do you ship to? (DAVIDsTEA help centre) · search the archive · Ships only within Canada and the United States, not to other countries
Company details
- Headquarters
- Canada
- Last researched
- 3 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is DAVIDsTEA ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/davidstea, 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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Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent DAVIDsTEA.