Yorkshire Tea and PG Tips Join Brands in Backing Black Lives Matter
Tea is a way of life in England. Following Portuguese princess Catherine’s introduction of tea to England in 1660 AD, Brits started loving this refreshing, stimulating, calming and healthy beverage. Eventually tea became the national beverage in England. With no doubt, tea provided the refreshment, stimulation, relaxation and good health for Brits to build up a massive empire. Now Yorkshire Tea & PG Tips, two of the most reputed brands in British Tea market uniting under the hashtag #solidaritea to back Black Lives Matter (BLM). As The Guardian had reported, The second and third largest tea companies in Britain have became the latest businesses to declare their support for the Black Lives Matter protests that have broken out around the world since the death of George Floyd.
Yorkshire Tea was replying to a tweet from a far-right activist, Laura Towler, expressing satisfaction that the brand had not come out in support of the movement.
“I’m dead chuffed that Yorkshire Tea has not supported BLM,” Towler tweeted on Monday, along with a smiley face emoji.
But Yorkshire Tea, which is owned by the Harrogate-based Bettys and Taylors Group, replied: “Please don’t buy our tea again. We’re taking some time to educate ourselves and plan proper action before we post. We stand against racism.”
It was soon joined by PG Tips, which tweeted: “If you are boycotting teas that stand against racism, you’re going to have to find two new tea brands now.” PG Tips is owned by the consumer goods conglomerate Unilever, which also makes Marmite and Pot Noodle among many other products.
The two brands won delighted approval from some social media users, with one tweeting: “Tea unity makes me emotional. Love it and its pure Britishness”.
But others were sceptical of the weight of the companies’ commitment, with many pointing out that neither had set out any details of their position or plans for action. One social media user said: “Can we have your full political declaration then please. Just so everyone is clear where you stand on all the issues rather than appearing to be opportunistic is order to sell more tea.”
The two tea firms are the latest to grapple with a corporate dilemma during the Black Lives Matter movement – whether declaring their support is a clear communication of brand values, or risks backfiring and appearing opportunistic.
Bettys and Taylors Group has no minority ethnic executives on its eight-strong board and senior executive group. It finished 34th out of 47 brands on a 2018 Ethical Consumer guide to the sector. Unilever’s PG Tips finished 46th, scoring two out of a possible 20 points.
Both companies include tea grown in Assam, India for their blends. These two companies have pointed to steps they have taken to improve the conditions of the workers in Assam, and have published a list of their suppliers. However, a Traidcraft report, published in January, accused them and a number of other UK tea brands of “knowing about the conditions for women working on tea estates but not doing enough about them”. The report urged greater transparency about the production process.
View More Latest Tea News + Articles: https://www.teawithnipun.com/
References
