Twinings

How ethical and sustainable is Twinings? 

Twinings is a Tea brand that appears in The Good Shopping Guide’s Ethical Tea Ratings Table. The brand has not yet met our ethical benchmark, but we hope that Twinings will make changes towards operating as a more ethical company in the future.

More information on the importance of ethics in the tea industry can be found in The Good Shopping’s Guide to Ethical Tea. Then, in our Ethical Tea Rating Table see how it rates against other brands.

What does Twinings do?

Thomas Twining purchased Tom’s coffee house in 1706 which continued to expand as it was passed on through the generations. Twining’s created its famous English breakfast tea in 1933 and produced its first tea bag in 1956. In 1964 the Twinings brand was acquired by the Association of British Foods.

For which criteria does Twinings perform poorly? 

Despite the progress that has been made, there are still areas that the brand could improve; in particular, Twinings scores low for Genetic Modification and Public Record Criticisms. The parent company, Associated British Foods, released a policy that admits to the use of some GMOs in its products.

Twinings also doesn’t sell any of Fairtrade tea and therefore receives a bottom rating in the Fairtrade category.

In what areas does Twinings score well for its ethics?

Despite its low score, Twinings performs well across some aspects of our assessment. For instance, as Twinings has several teas certified by Soil Association, it receives a top rating in our Organic category.

Additionally, as neither Twinings nor ABF have been called out recently for any animal abuse issues, the brand receives a top rating for Animal Welfare.

How can Twinings improve its ethical rating?

The Good Shopping Guide calculates a brand’s Ethical grade using three distinct categories: the Environment, People and Animals.

Twinings could improve its rating and reach our minimum ethical benchmark by looking into the production of Fairtrade tea, ensuring that products are sourced ethically and farmers receive the pay that they deserve.

Do you manage or own a tea company? Does your ethical tea company truly care about people, animals, and the environment? Do you want to get our esteemed Ethical Accreditation and specialised guidance on how to strengthen the ethics in your company? Show up on our Ethical Ratings Tables and cut through the greenwash; customers trust brands who have a track record of taking sustainability and ethics into account. To begin, get in touch with us or complete our initial assessment form.