Point of View
In 1890 Scotland’s Sir Thomas J. Lipton, by then a millionaire of note announced he would travel to Australia for a vacation. He departed with fanfare and headlines but purposefully neglected to mention that his ship would dock in Ceylon (modern Sri Lanka). On arrival, he purchased four large estates made destitute after 15 years combatting coffee blight -- but ideally suited to tea.
Colombo established its own tea auction by 1883, and by 1890 exports climbed to 22,899 tons. Thanks to Lipton they doubled and doubled again, his competitors transforming the island of coffee into an island of tea that today produces 300,000 metric tons annually.
From the Managing Editor's Desk
Dan Bolton,STiR managing editor
Lipton’s innovations were simple but still had an extraordinary impact. First, he insisted on clean tea, which in those days meant that it had not been adulterated, mixed with spent tea, or doused with various poisons to enhance its color. He introduced sealed packets for freshness and perhaps more critical, to guarantee that portions were fairly weighed. He also insisted on consistency in blend from bush to cup, making Lipton Yellow Label the gold standard for tea. He then priced his tea for the masses and encouraged retailers operating stores other than his own to sell his namesake tea creating one of the world’s most recognized brands.
Lipton’s head start remains, but his subterfuge is out of place.
The public revealed as much when the social advocacy organizationTraidcraft Exchange began pressing tea companies to reveal their sources. “Who picked my tea?” they asked, stirring a social media storm in the wake of the BBC airing tales of abuse in tea gardens.
Last June Bettys and Taylors, owners of Yorkshire Tea, became the first major brand to publish a full list of suppliers.
The firm announced that “At its heart is the idea that knowledge and sharing information underpins effective action. Being open about where we buy and who we buy from enables collaboration. It can help businesses, civil society, and producers work together on problems that can’t be solved alone.”
Twinings soon followed and then Tetley. Clipper was next and by year’s end Unilever, UK’s largest tea supplier, owner of PG Tips, Pukka Herbs, and Lipton declared the same. It took Typhoo almost a year to make it unanimous. Traidcraft rejoiced at how quickly the conversation changed from “we will never reveal our trade secrets” to “here is an online list of every supplier.”
Lipton initially would have questioned the wisdom of revealing publicly his sources of tea. It invites competition like the rush to tea he experienced in Ceylon, he would argue. His successors at Unilever likely thought the same. But as Twinings, Tetley, and Typhoo locked step no great harm befell them.
It was Lipton, after all, who established tea for the masses. Instead of selling tea loose from a chest he branded his packets “Straight from the tea gardens to the teapot.” It was Lipton who bypassed the middlemen of his day so that he could fully control his company’s tea and price.
Eventually every tea supplier will conclude that revealing the source of its tea, documenting social and labor conditions at origin; adhering to standards monitored by third-party certifiers, and even publishing the safety records at factories where it is processed – all this and more transparency is essential.
In tea, every sustainable supply chain is built from the ground up.
Sir Thomas would be proud.