At Harrods, we recognise the importance of sourcing tea in a responsible and more sustainable manner. We are committed to reducing inequality, improving health and education in the communities that we source from, while working to preserve our environment for generations to come.
To achieve this, we require our suppliers to source teas that are either certified by third party certification schemes or purchased directly from tea farmers. Where our suppliers have direct relationships with farmers, they receive formal approval by the Harrods Technical team to ensure sustainable sourcing practices are followed in line with these requirements.
Harrods recognises industry established third party sustainable and ethical programmes with a focus on social and environmental standards, such as the Rainforest Alliance. These labels stand for more sustainable farms, their families, and our planet, as well as encompassing ecosystem conservation and wildlife protection.
Harrods recognises the following routes by which the responsibly sourced tea supply chain requirements can be met:
Identity Preserved
Certified tea from a specific certification holder farm or cooperative is kept separate from other tea throughout the whole chain, so it’s possible to know which farmer produced the tea and where it was grown.
Fully Segregated
There is no mixing with non-certified tea products of the same ingredient through the whole supply chain. The whole content is certified although it can come from different certified sources or farms including different country of origin.
In order to source tea responsibly, Harrods will take the following actions:
1. We commit to only use tea that is directly sourced from certified tea farms or tea that is third party certified to an accredited scheme.
2. We request that suppliers provide documentary evidence confirming certification to an accredited scheme and retain copies of the relevant documentation.
3. Where suppliers have direct relationships with farmers, these suppliers will have received formal approval by the Harrods Technical team to ensure responsible and sustainable sourcing practices are followed in line with our core responsibility requirements documented above.
4. We verify the implementation of the policy through regular traceability and mass balance exercises of our suppliers and supply chain.
5. We commit to use environmentally friendly packaging for tea to ensure that all packaging is easily recycled without compromising the product quality.
