Labour Lens

English Tea Shop

Lacks transparency

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

Tea

Partly verified: what this means

Last researched 3 November 2026 · 7 sources

Sri Lankan-founded company selling organic and Fairtrade teabags.

There's no proof the people who grow its tea earn more than the legal minimum, which in Sri Lanka is well below a living wage.

See better tea options

Know something we've missed? Send evidence. Represent English Tea Shop? Send a right of reply.

Compare English Tea Shop with another brand

Why it's graded Lacks transparency

  • Not met: Meets 2 of 5 Good requirements.
  • Holds the grade back: It doesn't show that workers are paid a living wage, and isn't certified as working towards one. On Track needs at least one of these.
  • 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 2 of 5

  • Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
  • Not met: Respects worker rightsJudged on where its tea is grown: worker rights are poorly protected in Sri Lanka, India and Kenya.
  • 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 1

  • Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
Stars it would earn as Good:
StarAwarded for
Gives workers a real voice
Finds and fixes problems, or invests in communities

Stars only show on Good companies. About stars

Accreditations 2

Estimates for its products

Our rules applied to one kind of product at a time, using English Tea Shop'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 English Tea Shop'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.

Where its tea is grown, and conditions there
CountryWorker rightsLegal minimum wageForced labour risk
Sri LankaSystematic violationsWell below a living wageModerate
IndiaUsual for the industryNo guarantee of rightsWell below a living wageHigh
KenyaUsual for the industrySystematic violationsWell below a living wageModerate
ChinaUsual for the industryNo guarantee of rightsBelow a living wageModerate
MalawiUsual for the industryStrong protectionsFar below a living wageModerate
IndonesiaUsual for the industryNo guarantee of rightsWell below a living wageModerate

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). (partly offset by certification or direct sourcing) Source
  • Owns or runs its own production
  • Direct trade (self-reported)
  • Invests in worker and farming communities
  • Actively empowers workers (ownership, worker committees, union agreements, training)

Research notes English Tea Shop blends and packs its organic range at its own factory in Ambatale, Sri Lanka, and says it buys directly from organic smallholders there; its impact report names farming districts but no individual farms and publishes no prices paid. Sri Lanka is the only sourcing country it names. Only part of the range is Fairtrade: its 2023-24 impact report lists 19 Fairtrade blends and US$55,000 in Fairtrade premium. Staff own about 30% of the company, it holds a SMETA 4-pillar audit and B Corp status, and it publishes no wage data against a living wage. A 2026 Amnesty report found possible forced labour on private estates and smallholdings in southern Sri Lanka, without naming brands.

What independent sources say

SourceResultDetails
B Corp directoryCertifiedCertified B Corp since 2022 with a score of 132.2; Workers score 32.9. View
Fairtrade (incl. FLOCERT and Fairtrade ANZ)CertifiedSome lines carry the Fairtrade mark (Fairtrade International), such as English Breakfast, Earl Grey, Rooibos and Peppermint; the 2023-24 impact report lists 19 Fairtrade blends, a small part of the range. View
US Department of Labor goods listsNot listedSri Lankan tea is not on the US list of goods produced with child or forced labour. View
Business & Human Rights Resource CentreNot listedNo allegations naming English Tea Shop were found. View

Sources and actions

Sources 7

Show all 7 sources
  1. English Tea Shop - B Corp directory · search the archive · Certified B Corp since 2022, score 132.2; Colombo District, Sri Lanka; 300+ employees; own manufacturing facility in Sri Lanka; aims to uplift over 3,000 small organic farmers
  2. Sri Lanka: Abandoned by the state, trapped in private estates - Amnesty International · search the archive · May 2026: abuses that may amount to forced labour on private tea estates and smallholdings in Southern Province; no brands named
  3. Healthy Company case study: English Tea Shop 2024 - Great Game of Business · search the archive · 301 employees; employees own about 30% through a free ESOP with dividends; buys tea directly from organic farmers in Sri Lanka
  4. English Tea Shop launches Sip the Season gifting range - Retail Times · search the archive · September 2026: still trading; B Corp; works directly with more than 1,400 small-scale farmers; CEO Suranga Herath
  5. English Tea Shop products - Ethical Superstore · search the archive · Only some lines (English Breakfast, Earl Grey, Rooibos, Peppermint) carry Fairtrade; herbal and wellness blends are organic only
  6. English Tea Shop Earl Grey Tea - Flora & Fauna · search the archive · Sold in Australia; Earl Grey certified Fairtrade by Fairtrade International and organic by the Soil Association; Ceylon tea; own factory in Sri Lanka

Published by English Tea Shop or its owner

  1. Impact Report 2023-2024 - English Tea Shop · search the archive · Own factory at Ambatale, Sri Lanka; Sri Lanka the only sourcing country named; 19 Fairtrade blends; US$55,000 premium; 30% employee-owned; SMETA 4-pillar

Company details

Headquarters
Sri Lanka
Employees
About 300
Last researched
3 November 2026
Cite this page
Labour Lens, "Is English Tea Shop ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/english-tea-shop, last researched 3 November 2026, accessed [date].
Method
Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means

Better-graded tea

Trade AidTeaFair trade tea, coffee, chocolateHolds WFTO Guaranteed Fair Trade and publishes its suppliers.GoodGoes Above and Beyond: Gives workers a real voice; Open supply chain; Finds and fixes problems, or invests in communities5 starsDaintree TeaTeaAustralian-grown unblended black teaMakes its products in its own factories in Australia, where legal wages are close to a living wage.GoodGoes Above and Beyond: Open supply chain3 starsNumi Organic TeaTeaOrganic and fair trade teasHolds Fairtrade certification.GoodGoes Above and Beyond: Finds and fixes problems, or invests in communities3 stars

See every tea brand

Something missing or wrong?

Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent English Tea Shop.

Send evidenceSend a right of reply