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The First World War had a huge impact on the
company. Many of the employees were sent to fight
for the country and rationing and sales laws were put
into force. Samuel promised the servicemen their jobs
would be waiting for them on their return and sure
enough, all 12 surviving members of his former staff
came back to their jobs.
In the early 1920s, Ringtons bought two motorised
vehicles, although it seemed that most customers still
preferred their tea delivered by the traditional horse
and cart, and it wasn’t until 1962 that the last horse
(Monty) finally retired.
Ringtons was again seriously affected by the Second
World War. Over 400 Ringtons employees, including
Samuel’s four grandsons, were called up to fight and
by 1943, 200 vans were taken off the road. Once
again, the business was kept going and the surviving
servicemen, including his grandsons, returned to work
for the company.
All Fortnum & Mason Teas are purchased in accordance
with Ethical Tea Partnership (ETP) standards. These
standards aim to ensure that all its tea is from sustainable
sources.
The ETP began work in 1997 as the Tea Sourcing Partnership,
an organisation started by a number of UK based tea
packing companies who decided to work together on
sustainability issues in their supply chains, rather than to
compete on ethics. Membership grew rapidly and there
are now twenty members from Europe, North America
and Australasia.
In September 2004 they changed their name to the Ethical
Tea Partnership. In its 12 year existence, ETP has grown
in geographical scope, gradually covering all the major
tea export regions. They are now active in all areas of the
world where F&M purchases its tea stocks: China, North
India (Assam, Darjeeling), South India (Kerala,Tamil Nadu),
Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, Sri Lanka and Tanzania.
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Samuel Smith passed away aged 77 in 1949 and his
sons took on the business. This was only the beginning
of Smith generations following in their parents’
footsteps.
After over 100 years, the famous Ringtons vans still
continue their door to door deliveries all the way from
Scotland down to Peterborough and from Lancashire
across to East Anglia, a total of 28 sales offices serving
275,000 households. They blend all their own teas,
and roast all their own coffees. Ringtons opened their
new factory in 1992, but the head office is next door
to the original factory in Byker, which is a famous
local landmark.
Now, the fourth generation of the family, Nigel, Simon,
and Colin Smith, run the business on a daily basis as it
continues to flourish.
ETP’s Regional Managers work with producers to address
issues identified by monitors and support sustainability
improvements. As well as organising its own monitoring of
estates,ETP works with certification programmes operating
in the tea sector to facilitate third party certification where
this is of interest to producers and ETP members (e.g.
Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance).
ETP also works with a range of development agencies,
government and UN organisations and technical specialists
on projects to improve the lives of workers in the tea sector.
The ETP is a member of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI).
All suppliers are requested to supply details of their own
environmental policy along with a requirement to verify
that fair trade and ethical standards are observed at all
times. All practices are reviewed annually.