Sustainable Tea: Celebrating sustainability at every step
At English Tea Shop, we work closely with everyone in our value chain to make our planet a better place for all living beings. We want to be part of creating a world that’s both environmentally secure and economically prosperous for generations to come. A world where all people are treated fairly and given the chance to grow and develop.
Why organic?
Better for our farmers, our consumers and our planet
Going organic has meant we’ve built direct and long-lasting relationships with our farmers. It has also allowed us to have a positive impact on their lives by paying premium prices, offering long-term contracts and training, plus contributing towards organic certification and equipment costs.
We believe we have created a virtuous cycle where everyone involved wins.
And, of course, it’s better for the environment!
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Our certifications
Environmental impact
Food safety & product excellence
Social empowerment & transparency
System quality
Purpose driven from the start
2010
A newcomer to the organic world, we made a decision that changed everything – to move away from the typical shared auction system and work directly with farmers.
2013
English Tea Shop became established in 23 countries.
2015
On the road to becoming an employee-owned business, we built Open Book Management and the Great Game of Business philosophy into our corporate culture.
2016
Pioneered our unique and innovative ‘Creating Shared Value’ model that focuses on achieving economic, social, and environmental sustainability outcomes.
2017
Secured our first international award nomination as a finalist in the Grocer Gold awards. Won the National Business Award for sustainability in the UK.
2018
Brand revamp, received our second Grocer Gold awards nomination, and our CEO was named one of the 50 most ambitious business leaders of 2018 by LDC.
2019
Launched an agripreneur programme for 40 female farmers. Listed in London Stock Exchange’s 1,000 companies to inspire Britain and Alantra Food & Beverage Fast 50.
2020
Won the GGOB All-Star Award, Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development. Hosted our CSV global forum. Launched our Employee Share Option Plan and Train the Trainer programme.
2021
Achieved a global footprint of 48 countries and became 30% employee-owned! Our facilities also attained carbon-neutral certification, a process we started in 2018.
Ethically sourced tea
Beyond organic
We are serious tea lovers, but our ambition goes beyond making organic teas. We believe businesses can help create a better future for all living beings and choose to be at the forefront of this change.
Prajāva in practice
Three internal and three external pillars guide how we put our core concept of Prajāva into practice. The pillars are interrelated, reflecting the virtuous cycle created by our approach to people, planet and profit.
Our virtuous cycle - internal
Empower with knowledge
Knowledge gives people the power to change their world, so we continually help our people learn and grow through training.
Inclusivity through open book management
With a view to becoming a significantly employee-owned business, we are open and transparent with our people on all aspects of business.
An employee-owned business
Our employees will significantly own English Tea Shop one day, so nowadays they help us define our strategy, vision and objectives.
Prajāva in practice
Three internal and three external pillars guide how we put our core concept of Prajāva into practice. The pillars are interrelated, reflecting the virtuous cycle created by our approach to people, planet and profit.
Our virtuous cycle - external
Enhanced quality of life for farmers
Organic farming should empower farmers and improve their quality of life, so we offer support to help make this a reality.
Education and training for farmers and their families
Through education and training, we aim to help farming communities create sustainable businesses for future generations.
Promote sustainable & profitable organic farming
By offering support with finance, equipment and training, we help generate more profit and encourage farmers to go organic.
Our Prajāva Philosophy
Love and Prosperity through Community
We believe that the concept of Prajãva – the Sri Lankan word for community – should act as a guiding star for all businesses.
Our philosophy of Prajãva represents how businesses can work together with their communities in an inspiring way to create a virtuous cycle of shared value.
As a result, businesses deliver a sustainable competitive advantage to the entire value chain, including the environment.
Prajãva, therefore, puts organisations in an incredibly strong position to create long-term value in a way that is ethical for customers, employees, and suppliers. This leads to more fruitful community relationships, more sustainable livelihoods, and bridges inequality gaps in wealth and knowledge.
Creating shared value - our governing principle
Unique and innovative, our shared value model focuses on simultaneously achieving economic, social, and environmental sustainability outcomes. To reach these goals, we empower both our supplier communities and our own team of over 300 employees.
Conventional wisdom suggests that when businesses place a commitment to sustainability at the heart of operations, they limit their growth potential. This narrow and outdated view is something that English Tea Shop set out to challenge by creating our shared value model.
Our tea revolution: Impact
Our tea revolution is about creating meaningful change that impacts the lives of everyone in our value chain. We continually strive to find ways to enhance our positive impact on people and the planet.
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Our awards
Discover our organic teas
Tea for every mood and moment. Ranging from the traditional to the more exotic, our deliciously varied range of organic teas and tisanes are bursting with flavours for you to explore.
Get in touch
Do you love organic teas and sustainability as much as we do? We’d love to hear from you if so!
Our mission
What drives us
Our mission is to create the finest organic teas while having a net positive impact on the planet and the lives of everyone involved from farm to cup.
