Keystage 2 - Food - Fair trade tea

Tea production relies on very cheap labour. Workers are paid wages that barely cover living costs. The wage in 2000 for India's 1 million tea workers was equivalent to about £1 a day, and in Sri Lanka it was about 90p a day. That would have to feed a family. If you were the head of a family what would you buy with £1?

Fortunately, fair trade labels are becoming more popular with consumers. Fair trade tea is produced on estates that have good standards for their workers, such as fair pay, quality housing, healthcare, safe working conditions and children's education.