Fairtrade tea sales rose sharply in 2025, with volumes up 35% compared to the previous year - the equivalent of 549 million additional cups of Fairtrade tea enjoyed by UK shoppers. The growth seen in 2025 coincides with the Fairtrade Foundation’s Brew it Fair campaign, calling for change in the tea sector so that the people behind the nation’s favourite drink can earn a decent living.

The sales figures come ahead of International Tea Day (21 May) and as Fairtrade continues to urge the UK Government to introduce a responsible business law that would level the playing field for companies taking meaningful steps to address human rights and environmental challenges in global supply chains. 

A major driver of the increase was Sainsbury’s conversion of all its by Sainsbury’s black tea to Fairtrade in 2025. This commitment alone is expected to deliver over £1 million of Fairtrade Premium each year – money that tea-growing communities can invest in improved livelihoods, climate resilience and essential community services. Sainsbury’s is now the largest retailer of Fairtrade tea in the UK.

Research carried out in 2025 by the Fairtrade Foundation and Fairtrade Africa, revealed that just 1 in 5 tea growers in Kenya earn enough income each month to support their families with the essentials. 

This comes as the knock-on impacts of the conflict in Iran are already being felt by tea growers, with trade disruption in the region pushing up energy, fertiliser and transport costs. In Kenya, Fairtrade partners report tea consignments delayed in Mombasa warehouses, leaving farmers without timely payment. These upstream shocks disproportionately affect farmers and workers. 

Mahsa Yeganeh, Senior Sustainable Sourcing Manager for Tea at the Fairtrade Foundation, said: 

“We’re delighted to see sales of Fairtrade tea rise over the past year. Every extra cup of Fairtrade tea enjoyed in the UK translates into real, tangible benefits for the tea growers who are working hard but struggling to make ends meet. For anyone who hasn’t yet made the switch to Fairtrade tea, we would urge you to do so. The more tea growers can sell on Fairtrade terms, the more they can invest in training, strengthen their incomes, and build resilience to climate change - one of the biggest challenges facing the sector.

“Recent trade disruptions have caused further challenges for tea growers. Fairtrade’s focus remains on ensuring farmers are not left to absorb the costs of global disruption, and that supply chains are as resilient as possible. We urge retailers and brands to continue to pay a fair price and work with Fairtrade to build resilience in supply chains.

“To level the playing field for companies that are doing the right thing and tackling human rights and environmental risks in their supply chains, we’re also calling on the UK Government to introduce a strong responsible business law for all companies, which must put the experiences and challenges faced by farmers and workers at its heart.” 

The increase in Fairtrade tea sales will bring tangible benefits for tea growers around the world who are selling their tea on Fairtrade terms, including through additional Fairtrade Premium.

As Ms Vijaya Kumari, a tea leaf plucker on a Fairtrade-certified tea estate in India, explained:

“Now that Fairtrade is here… they provide clean water supply. They provide all the medical facilities. If there’s an emergency, we have an ambulance… At a company that does not have Fairtrade, this is difficult for them.”.

Evelyne Cherugut, a Tea Farmer from Momul Tea Factory, said: 

“[Tea earnings are] unpredictable… I decided to be involved [in the Fairtrade projects] to make additional income to educate my grandchildren.”

Fairtrade campaigners led the Brew it Fair call, leading to 99% of MPs being contacted by local constituents and Fairtrade supporters, urging them to support tea growers and new Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence (HREDD) legislation in the UK. The campaign was supported by 89 MPs who signed an Early Day Motion on the topic. In December, Fairtrade handed in its Brew it Fair petition signed by over 21,000 people, alongside an open letter from over 250 Kenyan tea farmers to 10 Downing Street. Representatives from Clipper and Sainsbury’s joined the petition hand-in, as Fairtrade called on the government to take action to protect the people who grow and produce the tea we drink. 

Alongside its public-facing campaign, Fairtrade has also been working to convene the tea industry and make sure the Fairtrade model works as well as it can for tea growers: 

• In September 2025, Fairtrade convened key stakeholders across the tea sector at the ‘Brew It Fair from Insight to Action’ event. 

• Consultations with over 100 producer representatives across tea-growing regions in Africa and Asia were conducted in December 2025 and January 2026 on an innovative tea pricing model. Additional discussions with stakeholders have continued to help shape a dynamic model to grow Fairtrade volumes.

• The Fairtrade Standards Evaluation Project (STEP) will incorporate support for tea producers to address and prioritise their most pressing challenges. Tea producers will also be able to respond to challenges and gain recognition for their efforts, reducing duplication. 

• Fairtrade is also developing an innovative data transparency solution: an HREDD‑aligned dashboard that provides businesses with a clear, validated and risk-based view of their own tea supply chains. It combines country, sector, and producer‑level data, when consent is given by producers, to help companies to identify and prioritise risks, track progress, and understand where investments are already addressing risks through Fairtrade Premium use. This dashboard increases supply chain transparency and understanding, supports better decision making, inputs smarter interventions, and facilitates credible HREDD reporting aligned with international standards.

Fairtrade tea is sold by supermarkets Co-op, M&S, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose, at Greggs, and by Clipper and Ringtons.

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Notes to Editors:

• Contact - For more information and spokespeople, please contact: Laura Ouseley Laura.ouseley@fairtrade.org.uk, +44 (0)7909 875 956, or media@fairtrade.org.uk.

• Petition - Fairtrade is calling for a new UK law on responsible business. Sign Fairtrade’s petition ‘Demand Business That's Fair to People and Planet’: Sign | Fairtrade Foundation.