Ethical Sourcing & Sustainability Policy

At privehuislust, we believe that Naked Flavour can only be achieved through transparency and respect. Our commitment to ethical sourcing is built on the belief that the best-tasting tea is grown with care for the land and with respect to the people who tend to it.

We don’t just buy tea; we invest in a sustainable future for the industry. To ensure this, we evaluate our partners against our Three Pillars of Sourcing:

1. Environmental Stewardship

We work with trusted smallholders who treat the earth with respect and prioritise:

  • Organic Cultivation: Reducing or eliminating synthetic inputs to protect local ecosystems.

  • Regenerative Farming: Practices that actively restore soil health and promote biodiversity.

2. Exceptional Quality & Flavour

We only work with gardens who consistently produce fantastic tasting tea, taking into consideration a number of factors which are dependent on cultivar, region, altitude and processing.

  • Our teas are sourced from estates across multiple countries, including: Georgia, India, Sri Lanka, Japan (South) and China.

  • We pay a premium for these exceptional teas, ensuring that quality translates into a better deal for the producer than the mass-market tea auctions ever could.

3. Fair Compensation & Wellbeing

We believe that the workers who craft these exceptional teas deserve more than just the minimum. We ensure our partners:

  • Pay their workers above an average living wage or provide equivalent compensation (such as housing, education, childcare or healthcare).

  • Prioritise the safety and long-term wellbeing of their employees through employee benefits.

Our Process: From Garden to Cup

We take full responsibility for our products. Our teas are hand-blended in small batches, here in the UK, and we manage all of our packing and shipping in-house. This hands-on approach ensures that the care taken at origin is maintained throughout our supply chain and all the way to your cup.

By streamlining our supply chain, working direct with growers at source and handling the logistics ourselves, we ensure that the maximum value stays where it belongs: with the smallholders and the craftspeople.

Packaging & Logistics

Sustainability doesn’t stop at the tea leaf. We are committed to:

  • Selecting packaging materials that minimise environmental impact: for us, this means 100% plastic free, and either compostable or recyclable.

  • Reducing our carbon footprint through efficient, in-house logistics management, prioritising renewable energy for our production, and electric fleets, as well as shipping by sea rather than air.

These guidelines help us to make the best possible decisions when sourcing ingredients and to build strong relationships with our supply partners. If we are unable to prioritise these pillars we are committed to working with suppliers that uphold the same values as us, or who are aligned to those guidelines outlined by partners such as the European Speciality Tea Association, Ethical Tea Partnership, Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance, where growing communities are placed at the centre of decision making – you can read our discussion on some of these partners here.