Who Owns Twinings?

Twinings sources its teas through Rainforest Alliance certified farms and is a member of the Ethical Tea Partnership, an industry initiative that addresses social and environmental issues in tea supply chains. The brand has committed to sustainable sourcing programs in key growing regions including Kenya, India, and Sri Lanka.

Rainforest Alliance Certification: Twinings works with Rainforest Alliance certified farms to promote sustainable agricultural practices. The certification covers environmental protection, fair labor practices, and community development. Twinings has set targets for increasing the proportion of certified tea in its supply chain.

Ethical Tea Partnership: Twinings is a founding member of the Ethical Tea Partnership (ETP), established in 1997. The ETP works to improve the lives of tea workers and their communities through programs addressing living wages, worker welfare, and environmental sustainability. The ETP operates in all major tea-growing regions.

Twinings Community Programs: Twinings runs community programs in tea-growing regions, focusing on education, healthcare, and women's empowerment. These programs are delivered through partnerships with NGOs and local organizations in Kenya, India, and Sri Lanka. The specific outcomes and metrics of these programs are reported in Twinings' sustainability communications.

Packaging and Waste: Twinings has been working to reduce the environmental impact of its packaging. The brand has explored biodegradable and recyclable tea bag materials, transitioning away from plastic-containing tea bags. The company has set targets for reducing packaging waste, though specific progress metrics are not consistently published.

Challenges: Twinings faces the inherent tension of being a premium tea brand sourcing from developing countries where tea plantation workers often earn low wages. While the Ethical Tea Partnership and Rainforest Alliance certification address some of these concerns, wage levels on tea estates remain a systemic issue across the industry. Twinings does not publish detailed supply chain wage data.

• Royal Warrant: Twinings has held a Royal Warrant continuously since 1837, the longest continuous Royal Warrant of any company. The warrant is granted by the British monarch and signifies the brand's status as an official supplier to the royal household.
• Oldest Corporate Logo in Continuous Use: The Twinings logo, designed in 1787, is recognized as the oldest corporate logo in continuous use worldwide.
• Number One Tea Brand in France (March 2025): Twinings became the number one tea brand in France in March 2025, according to ABF's 2025 annual report.
• Number One Tea Brand for Under-35s in the UK: ABF reports Twinings is the number one tea brand among consumers under 35 in the UK.
• Number One Tea Brand in London: Twinings holds the number one tea brand position in London, its home market.

Tea Industry Wage Issues: Twinings, like all major tea brands, sources from estates in Kenya, India, and Sri Lanka where tea workers often earn wages below living wage thresholds. While Twinings participates in the Ethical Tea Partnership and sources from Rainforest Alliance certified farms, the systemic issue of low wages on tea estates remains an industry-wide challenge. Twinings has not publicly committed to a living wage guarantee for all workers in its supply chain.

Packaging and Plastic Concerns: Twinings faced criticism over the use of plastic in its tea bags, which are sealed using polypropylene. The company has been transitioning to biodegradable and plastic-free tea bag materials, but the pace of this transition has been criticized by environmental groups as too slow.

Supply Chain Transparency: Twinings publishes sustainability information through ABF's corporate reporting and its own communications, but does not publish a comprehensive list of all supplying tea estates or detailed wage data for its supply chain. This level of transparency is standard for the tea industry but falls short of what some consumer advocates and NGOs have called for.

Competition from Yorkshire Tea: In the UK market, Yorkshire Tea (Bettys and Taylors of Harrogate) has grown significantly, surpassing 300 million pounds in sales for the first time in its history. Yorkshire Tea's growth in the premium segment creates competitive pressure on Twinings in its home market.