Tag Archives: Modern day slavery

The Dark Secrets Hidden in your Tea: A Twinings Investigation

Posted on by

Although I’m usually a coffee person, I have recently increased my tea intake and trying new blends. As with most thing, this led me on an ethical journey to discover the story behind the brands I’m drinking. This is what I found out about one popular company Twinings & Co.

20160829_112219

The good ol’ Twinings & Co company sells Twinings of London, a large range of delicious teas for around $2.70 AUS in a pack of 10. Every now and then they have a special of $0.99 AUS and we all rejoice… but my friends there is a reason why you can buy tea for this price. The reports from 2015 and 2016 are not good:

  • 2015, BBC investigation found workers were paid so little they lived in horrible conditions, suffering from malnutrition and illness. Workers were also exposed to chemicals with no health and safety standards. On some estates, it was found that child labour was being used.
  • 2015, Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare scored Twinings a tier 6 on their farm animal welfare policies and practices. Tier 6 is the worst score a company can receive.
  • 2016, Newsweek Green Ranking of 34.2 out of 100 when measured against 8 indicators: energy, greenhouse gas, water, waste, fines and penalties, relating executive pay to sustainability targets, board oversight of environmental issues and external audits.
  • 2016, Rank a Brand (for use of cotton) scored Twinings 2 out of 19.5, making it one of the lowest performing companies assessed.
  • 2016, Oxfam’s Behind the Brands Scorecard ranked this company equal last on their agriculture sourcing policies with a score of 36%
  • 2016, given an ethical rating of F from Shop Ethical (the lowest possible score)

However, don’t throw out your tea bags yet, there are some great alternatives out there. Yes, they are more expensive, but the thought that my tea is keeping someone else’s child in forced labour horrifies me. I will not support modern-day slavery once I’m aware of what’s happening.

Let me offer three alternatives:

Peppermint Tea: English Tea Shop

  • 100% Fair-trade certified – sometimes Brands use a percentage of fair-trade products so they can put the logo on their packaging, this one is 100% fair-trade
  • NON GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) project verified nongmoproject.org
  • Certified Organic – All agricultural ingredients are organically grown and processed.

20160829_112343

Camomile and mint: Planet Organic

20160829_112332

Camomile and Apple alternative: Pukka Planet

  • 100% Fair-trade certified
  • Certified Organic – All agricultural ingredients are organically grown and processed.
  • Environmentally friendly packaging including envelopes.

20160829_112311

I hope this blog has opened your eyes a little to how YOU can fight against modern slavery and help change the environment. Another popular brand to stay well away from is Tetley as it also ranks an ‘F’ on the Shop Ethical website. Bushells, Liptons and T2 all receive a ‘C ‘rating, so they pass, but it’s up to you to decide what you believe is acceptable.

I personally don’t want to be so removed from the production of the what I eat and drink (and wear) that I embrace a consumerist attitude towards my planet’s resources that keeps other in bondage and negatively impacts on future generations. The good news is that with tea, there are a number of positive brands including: Lotus Peak, Nature’s Cuppa, Madura, Dilmah and Nerada. So, the power is in your wallet and in your cup.
20160829_112547

Yes, the issue of ethical consumption can be a bit of a rabbit warren, but if you are interested in it, start somewhere. Why not start with your tea and help someone feed their family?

20160830_111803

Love Jess xxoo

PS – I wrote this while drinking my English Tea Shop peppermint tea and it was delicious!

References:

The Bitter Story behind the UK’s national Drink

The Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare – 2015 Report

Newsweek Green Ratings – 2016

Rank a Brand – Top brands failing on Cotton Sustainability

Oxfam, Behind the Brands April 2016 Company Scorecard

Who is Lisa Kristine? by Jess

Posted on by

Who on earth is Lisa Kristine? For those of you who haven’t already Googled her, she is a humanitarian photographer.

www.lisakristine.com

Tim first saw a video on TED talks (LINK below) in which Lisa featured. It goes for about 20 minutes, but it’s worth a watch.

Pretty amazing don’t you think?

Somehow Tim worked out that Lisa’s gallery is in Sonoma, a town we where going to drive through whilst in California. So, of course we eagerly stopped by.

P1020666

My first thought when we walked in was that I didn’t have room in my suitcase to buy anything 😦 That’s the problem when you’re travelling around, there’s no extra room in the suitcase.

Her photos are breathtaking. I think it’s Lisa’s ability to capture human emotion that moved me so much. You can not look into the lives of the people she comes into contact with and look the other way. The global statistics on slavery are given faces and names. It is Lisa’s gift to us and I’m so thankful for it. May people NEVER become a number or a statistic.

So who is Lisa Kristine? From my perspective, she’s an amazing photographer who is using her talents to bring light to a serious world-wide problem in the best way she can. She is a modern-day abolitionist.

Love Jess xxoo

 

One slave is too many by Jess

Posted on by

The Walk Free Foundation estimates there are 3000 slaves in Australia. This might seem small compared to the 30 million slaves world-wide, but honestly, I think one slave is one slave too many. As I recently investigated the state of slavery in my own nation, I read an article by the Sunday Morning Herald that highlighted this hidden tragedy within Australia’s boarders. Yet, another article renewed my hope that change is happening all around us and lives are being restored in countries all across the earth, including my own. There will always be those who fight injustice whether it’s considered a small or big problem.

article-1234177-07849C36000005DC-103_964x714

I am reminded of this little story below and I think of ‘the one’ who is still waiting to experience a ‘huge difference’…

The Boy and the Starfish

A man was walking along a deserted beach at sunset. As he walked he could see a young boy in the distance, as he drew nearer he noticed that the boy kept bending down, picking something up and throwing it into the water. Time and again he kept hurling things into the ocean.

As the man approached even closer, he was able to see that the boy was picking up starfish that had been washed up on the beach and, one at a time he was throwing them back into the water.

The man asked the boy what he was doing, the boy replied,”I am throwing these washed up starfish back into the ocean, or else they will die through lack of oxygen. “But”, said the man, “You can’t possibly save them all, there are thousands on this beach, and this must be happening on hundreds of beaches along the coast. You can’t possibly make a difference.” The boy looked down, frowning for a moment; then bent down to pick up another starfish, smiling as he threw it back into the sea. He replied,

“I made a huge difference to that one!”

~Author Unknown~

I too can do something for at least one. Maybe that’s volunteering my time, donating to a cause, supporting those who are on the ‘front lines’ or making other people aware of what’s going on. I have hope in my heart despite the odds that we will all eventually believe that one slave is too many.

Love Jess xxoo