Labour Lens

Ketepa

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 30 October 2026 · 4 sources

Kenyan tea brand packed by a subsidiary of smallholder-owned KTDA.

Ketepa publishes no certification, independent audit or supplier list.

Also worth knowing

Workers in Kenya are very unlikely to earn a living wage.

Better-graded tea

Graded higher than Ketepa, selling the same kinds of things.

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

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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 supply chain. 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 rightsJudged on where its tea is grown: worker rights are poorly protected in 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
  • 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: no certification, independent audits or supplier list
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

Estimates for its products

Our rules applied to one kind of product at a time, using Ketepa'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

Ketepa says which countries its tea comes from, but doesn't name the farms or co-operatives.

Where its tea is grown, and conditions there
CountryWorker rightsLegal minimum wageForced labour risk
KenyaSystematic violationsWell 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).
  • Worker or farmer owned

Research notes Ketepa is a subsidiary of KTDA, whose 650,000-plus smallholder farmers own more than 60 tea factories producing about 60% of Kenya's tea; its tea is made by KTDA factories and KTGA estate members in Kenya's highlands. It publishes no list of the factories behind each blend, labour audit results or wage data for factory workers and pickers. Kenya suspended Rainforest Alliance certification of tea factories in May 2025, citing costs passed to farmers, and lifted the suspension around October 2025; no current certification is shown for Ketepa.

Unconfirmed reports

Credible reports that haven't been confirmed by a regulator, completed investigation or the company. They're shown for your information and don't affect the grade.

  • At least 13 workers dismissed in August 2020 from KTDA's Githambo Tea Factory, accused of falsifying tea weights, sued at the Employment and Labour Relations Court, saying they were dismissed unfairly and that management refused their union representative at the disciplinary hearing; the case was ongoing (Nation, 2021). Source

Sources and actions

Sources 4

Show all 4 sources
  1. Kenya Ends Deal With Global Tea Certifier Over Alleged Farmer Exploitation (Kenyans.co.ke, 2025) · search the archive · June 2025 ministry memo told tea factories to stop working with Rainforest Alliance over costs shifted to farmers
  2. Sacked staff sue Murang'a's Githambo Tea Factory (Nation) · search the archive · 13 sacked workers at KTDA-run Githambo factory sued over unfair dismissal; case ongoing
  3. Ketepa Pride tea bags - Carrefour Kenya · search the archive · Ketepa sold in Kenyan supermarkets; no Australian retailer listing found

Published by Ketepa or its owner

  1. Who we are - Ketepa · search the archive · Ketepa is a KTDA subsidiary; KTDA farmers own 60+ factories producing ~60% of Kenya's tea; tea made by KTDA factories and KTGA members in Kenya's highlands

Company details

Headquarters
Kenya
Last researched
30 October 2026
Cite this page
Labour Lens, "Is Ketepa ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/ketepa, last researched 30 October 2026, accessed [date].
Method
Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means

Something missing or wrong?

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

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