Forsman Teahouse presents a new line of Fair Trade tea!

Aaro Forsman Ltd offers a vide selection of Fair Trade tea, consisting of 15 different tea qualities. The product selection includes three rooibos blends, one original black tea, four black tea blends, one original green tea, five green tea blends and one white tea blend.

Both Forsman black TGFOP Fair Trade tea and green Fair Trade tea come from the Chamraj plantation in Nilgiri, India. The tea plants in the mountainous areas grow in harsh environments. Forsman Fair Trade rooibos (redbush) is grown at the Paardekop plantations in Southern Africa.

Tea is cultivated in 30 different countries around the world and it’s a very important export product in many countries. There are many laws to ensure the proper conditions for plantation workers in many of these countries, but following them has become hard for many plantations due to the current state of the market. Because of this, many plantation workers are forced to live in poor conditions without electricity, running water, decent pay or any of the basic services.

In the Fair Trade system the price of products covers the production expenses and makes it possible for plantations to follow the laws and to upgrade living and working conditions for the workers. Fair Trade tea is cultivated at 66 different plantations in 11 different countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Most of the plantations are run by major plantation companies who use paid labour force the size of over 25 000 workers. The essential benefits of Fair Trade at plantations are as follows:

• The plantations follow the international laws and treaties concerning the workers’ rights
• The workers receive a salary according to the law
• The plantations do not use child labour or forced labour
• The plantations use developed methods of cultivation that are safe to the workers and the environment
• Safety precaution rules are followed and the workers are offered appropriate equipment e.g. for handling chemical goods
• The Fair Trade fees make it possible for plantations to carry out enterprises that benefit the workers and the whole plantation society

In addition to a decent price, every sold kilo of tea generates 0.50-1.00 euro of Fair Trade fees. 1-2 million euros of all the Fair Trade tea sold in the world are spent every year in enterprises that benefit the plantation workers. These fees are a significant additional resource for workers to improve their conditions and acquire basic services.

Contact us; we can help the workers of tea producing countries together!