Tea is pretty much the life blood of Britain and without it the entire economy would fall within days – hopefully we will never find out.

Tea is primarily grown in the developing world, which are susceptible to rising and falling market prices and scrupulous ‘middle men.’ The workers on the plantations are often paid very little for their long and hard days and their families can have very little in way of access to medical facilities or a proper education. The workers often have to put up with dangerous pesticides and artificial fertilisers which are banned in the developed world.

It is possible to purchase tea which is both certified as fairtrade and organic, which effectively stops the problems described above and brings many benefits to the workers on these tea plantations.

So not only do you keep the economies of both the UK and the developing world healthy, but people, like you and I, have access to better health care and education.