Lidl launches a Kenyan tea priced to close the living income gap

Lidl GB has launched Way To Go! Tea, which it describes as the first tea in the UK designed to directly support closing the living income gap for Kenyan tea growers. It arrived in stores at the end of September, timed with Fairtrade Fortnight.

The idea is simple. Farmers still receive the Fairtrade Minimum Price and the Fairtrade Premium, and on top of that an extra amount per kilogram goes to smallholders in Kericho, Kenya. Lidl worked with Fairtrade to calculate a Living Income Reference Price for this tea. Fairtrade says only one in five Kenyan tea farmers currently earns enough each month to cover the essentials.

The product is a Single Origin Kenyan Tea at 1.99 pounds for 80 bags, made with 100% plant-based fibres that are biodegradable and compostable. Lidl also says all of its own-brand black, green and rooibos tea is now certified by Rainforest Alliance or Fairtrade, and that it was the first UK retailer to carry out a Human Rights Impact Assessment on Kenyan tea.

It is easy to forget how many hands a cheap cup of tea passes through. I like that this launch puts a concrete number on the question of fair pay, rather than just a logo on the box.

Source: Tea & Coffee Trade Journal