Our vision, mission & goals
THIRST is The International Roundtable for Sustainable Tea. We are an independent charity working collaboratively to transform the tea industry.
Our vision
Our vision is of a resilient tea industry in which workers and farmers are empowered and their human rights are realised.
Our mission
Our mission is to bring all tea sector actors together to listen and learn from one another and to find practical, realistic solutions that will tackle the root causes of tea workers’ and farmers’ hardships at a systemic level.
Why does THIRST exist?
Tea workers are currently trapped in lives of poverty and hardship.
The causes for this are complex, systemic and pervade every level of the value chain, from the tea bush to the supermarket shelf.
Many organisations, companies and governments are working hard to tackle specific problems that exist in specific geographies.
Each of these actors has their own unique understanding of the context in which they operate, what needs to change and the obstacles they may face in creating that change. While these separate changes are valuable, they do not tackle the deeper causes of the industry’s problems.
THIRST is unique in that is was created to bring all of these actors together.
To listen to and learn from one another. To find practical, realistic solutions that will tackle the root causes of tea workers’ and farmers’ hardships at a systemic level – dramatically transforming their lives for the better.
Our goals
Specifically, THIRST is working to achieve the following goals for tea workers and farmers around the world.
Decent work and living income
Tea workers and farmers have decent working conditions and a living wage or income
Gender equality
Women and men workers and farmers have equal opportunities and equal pay for equal work and are safe from sexual discrimination, abuse and violence
Child protection and development
Children on tea plantations and farms are protected from all forms of violence and exploitation and have access to quality education
Health, safety, housing and benefits
Tea workers and farmers and their families and communities have safe and healthy living and working conditions, and access to good quality health services
Protection of the environment
The tea industry explores, pilots and utilises affordable, clean solutions for tea production, transport and packaging
Fair, effective and transparent systems
Tea producers, retailers, brands, vendors, buyers and traders are transparent about their policies and practices relating to human rights and environmental protection
Continued partnership
The tea industry and other stakeholders, including governments, trade unions, NGO’s etc will continue to work in partnership with each other and with THIRST to sustain the achievement of these goals
The four pillars of our work
We work to achieve our goals through our four pillars of work:
Generating inclusive and constructive dialogue
Sharing and generating knowledge, insights and expertise
Collaborating to find and develop innovative and practical solutions
