Yorkshire Tea and PG Tips express 'solidaritea' with BLM movement amid anti-racism protests

Tea brands move to back Black Lives Matter movement on social media 
AFP via Getty Images
David Child10 June 2020

Two of the UK's biggest tea brands have united in support of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement amid heated exchanges with customers on Twitter.

The move by PG Tips and Yorkshire Tea, the second and third-biggest tea sellers in the UK respectively, has prompted a boycott from right-wing figures.

The row was sparked after Yorkshire Tea responded to a tweet from local far-right activist Laura Towler, who expressed satisfaction the brand had not come out in support of the BLM movement amid mass protests across the globe triggered by the killing of George Floyd a fortnight ago.

"I’m dead chuffed that Yorkshire Tea hasn’t supported BLM," Towler said in a Tweet on June 6.

But Yorkshire Tea on Monday replied: “Please don’t buy our tea again."

The brand, which is owned by the Harrogate-based Bettys and Taylors Group, added in its Twitter post that it was "taking some time to educate ourselves and plan proper action before we post".

"We stand against racism. #BlackLivesMatter," it said.

The response was quickly echoed by PG Tips, which hit back at tweets calling for a boycott of Yorkshire Tea over its rivals' post.

“If you are boycotting teas that stand against racism, you’re going to have to find two new brands now #blacklivesmatter #solidaritea," the brand, which is owned by consumer goods conglomerate Unilever, said in a Twitter post.

A third tea brand, Teapigs, also joined in the conversation, expressing solidarity with the BLM movement and its rival companies.

"Nicely done guys. Make that three #solidaritea," it said in a Twitter post.

Tetley and Twinings, the biggest tea seller in the UK, later chimed in on the row too and added their support to the "solidaritea" hashtag.

The responses brought a flurry of support from several social media users who praised the "pure Britishness" of "tea solidarity".

"#solidaritea is the best hashtag I've seen in a long time," said one.

Another commented: "I think #solidaritea is the most British corporate statement imaginable. And I like it."

Meanwhile, one user simply reflected: "Imagine being angry because your tea brand isn't racist."

But there were also responses condemning the tea brands for what several called “virtue signalling”, with Towler herself quickly amending her Twitter profile to reflect having being “disavowed by Yorkshire Tea”.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in