Labour Lens

Pompadour

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 · 6 sources

Teekanne's herbal infusion and tea brand.

Pompadour can't show that the people who grow its tea in India earn a living wage, which workers there are very unlikely to.

Better-graded tea

Graded higher than Pompadour, 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 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.

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 rightsMost 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 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

Accreditations 1

Estimates for its products

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

These are its parent group's tea origins across all its brands; Pompadour doesn't say where its own tea is grown. The rest is shown as where tea is usually grown.

Where its tea is grown, and conditions there
CountryWorker rightsLegal minimum wageForced labour risk
IndiaNo guarantee of rightsWell below a living wageHigh
KenyaUsual for the industrySystematic violationsWell below a living wageModerate
Sri LankaUsual 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)

Research notes Pompadour follows Teekanne group sourcing: about 75% of herbal and fruit raw materials and all black, green and rooibos tea are Rainforest Alliance certified, with origins given only as Asia and Africa; the group names tea from Kusum Tea estates in Assam and Darjeeling, India. Some ginger has been uncertified since March 2026. The group uses Sedex and risk-based CSR audits but publishes no wage commitment, grievance channel or audit results.

What independent sources say

SourceResultDetails
Business & Human Rights Resource CentreUnclearNo BHRRC allegations naming Pompadour or Teekanne were found. View
News reporting and NGO investigationsListedParent Teekanne was named by Oxfam Germany (2019) as a buyer of Assam tea in a study of poor estate conditions; no estate supplying it was identified. View
Fairtrade (incl. FLOCERT and Fairtrade ANZ)CertifiedParent Teekanne has sold Fairtrade teas since 2003, but only for some lines. View

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.

  • Oxfam Germany's 2019 study of 50 Assam tea estates found wages under half a living wage and poor housing, including on certified estates; parent Teekanne, which buys Assam tea via intermediaries, said it had not found such problems at its estates. Source

Sources and actions

Sources 6

Show all 6 sources
  1. Pompadour - Forbes Italia Small Giants 2021 · search the archive · Pompadour is the Italian arm of the family-owned Teekanne group, based in Bolzano; the name dates from Teekanne's 1913 tea bag
  2. Pompadour - Qualität Südtirol producers · search the archive · Mountain herb infusion uses organic herbs from a named South Tyrol farm
  3. Pompadour brand page - goooods · search the archive · Herbal tea brand made in Teekanne's Düsseldorf factory; some products from Rainforest Alliance farms; sold in Japan

Published by Pompadour or its owner

  1. Sustainable ingredients - Teekanne · search the archive · About 75% of herbal and fruit raw materials Rainforest Alliance certified; origins Asia and Africa; some ginger uncertified since March 2026
  2. Partnerships - Teekanne · search the archive · Group Sedex membership since 2019 and IMO social monitoring
  3. Genuss aus Verantwortung: Klima-Fortschrittsbericht 2017-2025 (Teekanne) · search the archive · Group tea from Kusum Tea estates in Assam and Darjeeling, India (as recorded for Teekanne)

Company details

Headquarters
Germany
Last researched
3 November 2026
Cite this page
Labour Lens, "Is Pompadour ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/pompadour, 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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