Every tea lover can share the wonderful feeling of the combination of warmth and aroma that gives a feeling of comfort on cold winter days. However, every pleasure has its price. It turns out that tea, as well as other products that we often put in our shopping baskets, are linked to many cases of human rights violations.
A Business and Human Rights Resource Centre report for the year 2022 documented approximately 70 public complaints concerning supply chain violations in the procurement of tea. The most common violations can be categorized into three groups: the right to association, safe working conditions, unfair wages, and social benefits. The tea industry, like other industries, faces climate change challenges, rising production costs, and lower demand due to global oversupply. The adverse economic conditions disproportionately impact the most vulnerable workers and families directly involved in tea supply chains.
In the context of globalized economy, businesses operate in various sectors, sourcing goods from complex supply chains located in countries with different regulations and mechanisms for respecting human rights. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO)“global supply chains refers to the cross-border organization of the activities required to produce goods or services and bring them to consumers through inputs and various phases of development, production, and delivery.” Approximately 450 million people work in supply chains, representing vulnerable groups such as women, migrants, and people with lower levels of education, making them most susceptible to labor violations, environmental pollution, and issues related to their right to land ownership or access to clean drinking water.
Some solutions to address these problems are embedded in voluntary standards such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, requiring conducting due diligence throughout the value chain. However, with the development of complex supply value chains, modern slavery, forced labor, and child labor issues are deepening, as highlighted in the ILO report on modern slavery. Part of the solutions is reflected in the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive recognizing that a significant part of violations occur at the beginning of value chains, and companies must take necessary measures to prevent adverse impacts on human rights. While this directive is in the final voting stage, various initiatives related to responsible sourcing practices are observed, as well as different regulatory measures for better regulation and protection: the German Supply Chain Act, imposing requirements on companies to respect human rights in supply chains; the Child Labour Due Diligence Law, requiring companies to audit supply chains and assess child labor risks in the production of goods. The Modern Slavery Act in the UK and the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act are indicative of the trends towards increased regulations and the demand for more responsibility and transparency from manufacturing companies. This highlights how a seemingly harmless cup of tea can play a role in enhancing people’s economic well-being while at the same time catalyzing human rights violations.
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