The Sickening Sexual Abuse within Supply Chains

Tea Supply Chains face scrutiny

Hey Procurement Legends,

This week, we’re discussing something I never imagined I would write about. Call it naivety.

I was sickened last week as I was sipping on my Assam Twinings Tea (man, that stuff is good) when I came across an article from the BBC. For clarity, twinings have not been implicated in what you are about to read. I rate them highly as a company. I spent six weeks working there one summer during my break from university and found it wonderful.

“Sexual exploitation has been uncovered on tea farms that supply some of the UK’s most popular brands, including PG Tips, Lipton and Sainsbury’s Red Label”.

The Tea Supply Chain has been exploited - and it sounds systemic.

“More than 70 women on Kenyan tea farms, owned for years by two British companies, told the BBC they had been sexually abused by their supervisors” - BBC.

This isn’t the first supply chain plagued by such disgusting crimes. Many supply chains are primarily dominated by female workers who have male supervisors.

In March 2021, the Guardian published allegations of widespread sexual violence at factories in India with which H&M contracts. The murder of a 21-year-old Dalit garment worker named Jeyasre Kathiravel, who was raped and killed by her supervisor, propelled other women to come forward about their experiences in the factory - Sexual Exploitation in Supply Chains: What Can Consumers Do?

So what can Procurement do here?

Step 1:

Ensure that you properly vet all of your vendors. If they are overseas, ensure you have teams travel to those locations and vet workers there.

You should make this mandatory to take stock of their ingredients/materials.

Failure to do so will be a perpetual black mark against the vendor.

Step 2:

Consider Modern Slavery and how you will tackle it even if you are not legally required to publicly state how you fight it.

Too many of us in Procurement are being complacent here. Your voice, in a safe office or as you work from home in your loungewear, could save someone's life.

Step 3:

Prioritise data. You’ll only know if this is happening if you vet your vendors by less conventional means. Asking your vendor to complete a questionnaire about this isn’t enough. They will lie. THEY ARE COMMITTING CRIMES, KILLING AND HURTING PEOPLE. Your form means fuck all to them.

People are needed on the ground, interviewing, researching, or even conducting espionage on these vendors to ensure they treat people legally.

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