PG Tips
Harm on record. Has recent confirmed harm to workers that it hasn't put right.
Last researched 2 November 2026 · 7 sources
British black tea brand known for pyramid tea bags.
In 2023, supervisors sexually exploited women workers on Kenyan tea estates then owned by PG Tips' parent company.
Also worth knowing
PG Tips has only partly put this right.
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Why it's graded Harm on record
- Not met: Meets 2 of 5 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 3 red flags: no evidence of a living wage, clear breaches of labour conditions and unaudited production in high-risk countries. Two or more red flags means a poor grade.
- Holds the grade back: It's Harm on record because of a serious confirmed problem from the last 5 years that it has only partly put right: abuse of workers, last recorded in 2023.
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 rightsA confirmed problem counts against it: abuse of workers, last recorded in 2023
- 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 listNames its suppliers
Red flags 3
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Clear breaches of labour conditions
- 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
Where its tea is grown
Sri Lanka has the largest share, 28%. Kenya is next, at 22%.
| Country | Share | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sri Lanka | 28% | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Kenya | 22% | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Bangladesh | 20% | No guarantee of rights | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| India | 16% | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
| China | 6% | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Indonesia | 5% | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Malawi | 3% | Strong protections | Far 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). (partly offset by certification or direct sourcing)
- Modern slavery statement
- Publishes supplier list
Research notes PG Tips tea is Rainforest Alliance certified, and the brand says it was the first UK tea to be certified. It publishes no country breakdown of its own; Kenya is a long-standing source, and its parent buys from about 30 countries, mostly Sri Lanka, Kenya, Bangladesh and India, and publishes a group tea sourcing list. The parent publishes UK and Canada modern slavery statements and aims for a living wage or income across its value chain by 2040, with pilots in Kenya, but has no measurable steps due before then. Shares are its parent LIPTON Teas and Infusions' group sourcing split, as for Lipton.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| UK Modern Slavery Statement Registry | Listed | Parent LIPTON Teas and Infusions publishes a 2025 UK modern slavery statement. View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Listed | Tracks the 2021 Lujeri estate abuse claim naming PG Tips as a buyer and the 2023 BBC exposé on the group's Kenyan estates. View |
| KnowTheChain | Not listed | LIPTON Teas and Infusions is not among the 45 companies in the 2026 KnowTheChain food and beverage benchmark. View |
| US Department of Labor goods lists | Listed | The US Department of Labor lists tea from India for forced labour and tea from Kenya for child labour; both are sourcing regions for the group. View |
| Fairtrade (incl. FLOCERT and Fairtrade ANZ) | Not listed | PG Tips relies on Rainforest Alliance rather than Fairtrade certification. View |
Confirmed issues 1
Only confirmed problems are listed, and old ones drop off after 10 to 15 years. A problem the company has fully put right no longer counts against it, and nor does one it finds and is fixing itself. How problems are counted
| Last recorded | What happened | Made amends? |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | A 2023 BBC investigation found women workers on Kericho tea estates in Kenya, then owned by PG Tips' parent (formerly ekaterra), were sexually exploited by supervisors; Rainforest Alliance audits then found non-conformities and suspended the estates' certificate until July 2023, and a Kenyan court later upheld the company's dismissal of a manager for sexual harassment. Source · search the archive | PartlySuspended the staff named, dismissed at least one manager (upheld in court in 2025) and sold the Kenyan estates to Browns in 2024; no compensation for the women has been reported. |
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.
- In 2021 women workers sued in the UK High Court over alleged rapes and sexual abuse by supervisors at Malawi's Lujeri estate, which supplied PG Tips; Fairtrade suspended the estate's factory certificate after an audit, and the claim was later settled out of court on confidential terms without admission of liability (Leigh Day). Source
- A 2015 BBC investigation reported degrading housing and sanitation on Assam tea estates supplying brands including PG Tips; Unilever said it would work to raise standards. Source
Sources and actions
Sources 7
Show all 7 sources
- Malawi: ten rapes at tea farm supplying PG Tips (BHRRC / Sunday Times, 2021) · search the archive · Lawsuit over abuse at Lujeri estate; Unilever listed Lujeri as supplier; Fairtrade suspension
- Unilever's response to allegations of sexual abuse on Kenyan tea plantations (BHRRC) · search the archive · 2023 BBC investigation into sexual exploitation on Kericho estates owned by the group
- PG Tips Original tea bags (Ocado) · search the archive · Rainforest Alliance Certified; first UK tea brand certified; packed in UK by LIPTON Teas and Infusions, Trafford Park
- PG Tips moves towards a fully sustainable cuppa (Morning Advertiser, 2008) · search the archive · Rainforest Alliance commitment; Kenyan (Kericho) sourcing
- Better livelihoods (LIPTON Teas and Infusions) · search the archive · Almost 98% of group tea Rainforest Alliance certified; tea supplier list published
- LIPTON Teas and Infusions publishes its 2025 sustainability report · search the archive · Living wage or income ambition by 2040; pilots closed half the gap at two Kenyan suppliers
- Modern slavery statement (LIPTON Teas and Infusions) · search the archive · Publishes 2025 UK and Canada modern slavery statements
Company details
- Headquarters
- United Kingdom
- Last researched
- 2 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is PG Tips ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/pg-tips, last researched 2 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Harm on record means
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