#Solidaritea: PG Tips and Yorkshire Tea show support for Black Lives Matter

The Canary
9th June 2020

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British tea firms Yorkshire Tea and PG Tips have backed Black Lives Matter, urging those who oppose the anti-racism campaign not to buy their products.

Both companies publicly backed the protest movement on Twitter after YouTuber Laura Towler said she was “dead chuffed that Yorkshire Tea hasn’t supported BLM”.

Responding to the comment, Yorkshire Tea said: “Please don’t buy our tea again. We’re taking some time to educate ourselves and plan proper action before we post. We stand against racism.”

PG Tips, owned by Unilever, soon joined the conversation, adding that supporters of the campaign could drink their teas “guilt-free”.

In another tweet, the firm added: “If you are boycotting teas that stand against racism, you’re going to have to find two new tea brands now. #blacklivesmatter #solidaritea.”

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Towler, named by campaign group Hope Not Hate as one of the most influential far-right vloggers in the UK, has since changed her Twitter bio to read: “disavowed by Yorkshire Tea”.

Yorkshire Tea previously became embroiled in a political row after Chancellor Rishi Sunak shared a picture of himself enjoying their “good Yorkshire brew” while preparing for this year’s Budget.

After the tweet prompted some to urge a boycott of the brand, it posted on Twitter asking people to “try to be kind”, adding: “People of all political stripes like our brew.”

And the company raised chuckles and hackles in equal measure when it pointed out to a disgruntled Brexiteer that its tea wasn’t actually grown in Yorkshire.

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