Why we need to take action

Tackling the greatest challenges of our age — human rights, fair payment, environmental and climate protection, hunger and water shortages — will require a powerful lobby. As a traditional family company, we believe in taking responsibility and being part of a movement that takes on these challenges not only with words, but with actions. And that is what we are doing.
Our objective: We strive to do business in a fair and sustainable way and help our customers integrate sustainability into their everyday lives.
We’re ready for the challenge!
Newsfeed
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Human
Panel Discussion: „Change Fashion – Change Politics“
13.04.2022Axel Schröder (Team Human Rights) will discuss the conditions of a fair textile industry on April 21 at 4 p.m. during the Fashion Revolution Week. Join the panel discussion to learn how far the due diligence of companies already extends today and where the legislator has to make improvements.
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Non Food
Podcast: It’s all about (organic) cotton, baby.
07.04.2022In this podcast episode, everything revolves around organic cotton. We talk to Sustainability Manager Dr. Katharina Heye and Rapha Breyer from Fairtrade about beetle removal by hand and the Chetna joint project, which helps farmers transition from conventional to organic cotton (in German).
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Human
WE programme in the UN Global Compact's Business & Human Rights Navigator
30.03.2022Our WE human rights program now serves as an example of good practice in the area of freedom of association for the Business & Human Rights Navigator. The new online portal provides information on the implementation of due diligence in supply chains and thus also the Supply Chain Act.
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Company
Podcast: How does fashion finally become fair and environmentally friendly?
10.03.2022Fashion is supposed to make us happy. But the reality along the supply chain looks different. It reveals destruction, poisoning and human suffering. In the Planetary Business Podcast, Nanda Bergstein, Director of Corporate Responsibility, explains how we can reinvent the system (in German).
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Human
ILO Convention 190 to end violence & harassment in the workplace
08.03.2022Around 500 million working-age women live in countries without legal protection against violence and harassment in the workplace. Today, on International Women's Day, we call on the German government, together with 31 other members of the Textile Alliance, to ratify ILO Convention 190.
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Non Food
Recycled cotton - opportunities and challenges
10.02.2022Recycled cotton saves resources and protects the environment compared to virgin fiber. As we launch our first collection with several recycled cotton products, fiber expert Cristina Graack explains how the recycling process works, where the limits are and what we still want to achieve (in German).
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Company
How does fair trade succeed?
04.02.2022Nanda Bergstein, Director of Corporate Responsibility, was a guest in the interview series "Sarah will's wissen - Fairness im Unternehmen auf der Spur". Read more about what has happened in our commitment to fair trade since 2005 and why companies need new business models (in German).
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Human
Listen to the panel discussion on the Green Button
31.01.2022Axel Schröder (Team Human Rights) spoke at Neonyt in Frankfurt as part of a panel discussion about the government seal Green Button, corporate due diligence and supply chains of the future. Check out the recording (in Geman)!
© Neonyt / Dita Vollmond
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Human
Watch now: Panel on sustainable clothing (in German)
27.01.2022How are socio-ecological criteria as required by the new Supply Chain Act implemented in the production of clothing? This was one of the questions discussed by Axel Schröder (Team Human Rights) at the panel on sustainable clothing at the Fair Fashion Week.
© cottonbro from Pexels
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Non Food
Behind the scenes: Our organic cotton project in India
24.01.2022In a pilot project, we support farmers in India with sustainable cotton cultivation. But how does the shift to organic cotton work? Find out about the preparation of organic fertilizer and the sowing of Fairtrade organic cotton (in German).
© Fairtrade / Ranita Roy / Fairpicture
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Human
Green Button - preliminary conclusion and outlook
18.01.2022On January 19, Axel Schröder (Team Human Rights) will discuss corporate due diligence and supply chains of the future within a panel discussion at Neonyt in Frankfurt starting at 12 pm. Join the livestream (registration required)!
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Company
1st place: We are delighted to receive the F.A.Z. "Excellent Sustainability 2021" award
01.12.2021The F.A.Z. study "Excellent Sustainability 2021" evaluated more than 21,000 companies in terms of their sustainability reputation. The companies are analyzed comprehensively in the areas of ecological, social and economic sustainability. We are among the award winners!
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Environment
Green electricity from people for people
29.10.2021A climate-positive life and "electricity with a face"? We want to support that! Therefore, together with our partner enyway, we offer our customers the possibility to purchase green electricity directly from private electricity producers, if they wish even from their region.
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Environment
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Coffee
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Human
Human rights - a global issue
01.10.2021A good start for a more respectful interaction with each other! That's how the Green Actors Lounge can be summed up, where the film industry, activists and representatives of Tchibo discussed discrimination, globalization and sustainability last week.
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Human
Tchibo X Green Actors Lounge
23.09.2021We're bringing sustainability and the acting industry together! Join us live on Instagram on September 22, as we discuss sustainable lifestyle, green film production as well as fair coexistence with many green celebrities like Andrea Gerhard, Barbara Meier and Iris Berben.
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Company
The supply chain law in practice
23.09.2021How can the Supply Chain Act be implemented with real impact for people and the environment? For many companies, this is an as-yet unsolved challenge. At the SAP Executive Procurement Roundtable, Nanda Bergstein, Director of Corporate Responsibility, talks about possible solutions.
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Company
Sustainable business - how does it work?
22.09.2021Following the success of previous years, the PLAN W Congress is starting its third round: We are delighted that Nanda Bergstein, our Director of Corporate Responsibility, will be discussing with inspiring panel guests to talk about reconciling growth and sustainability and many other topics.
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Company
Podcast: In conversation with Revolverheld singer Johannes Strate
22.09.2021In the new podcast episode we talk to Revolverheld singer Johannes Strate about growing up in an ecologically minded household in Bremen and his fight as a WWF ambassador against the plastic flood.
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Not perfect – but making bold steps in the right direction
What we have achieved to date
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42.200 farmers
in 9 countries have received support through 20 projects delivered under the Tchibo Joint Forces!® farmer programme since 2009. The programme aims to help farmers transition to more sustainable cultivation methods and to improve living standards.
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96 % of our textiles made with cotton
are made from cotton from sustainable sources (organic cotton, GOTS or Cotton made in Africa).
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100 % eco-friendly power for 12 years
at all of our Tchibo sites (headquarters, warehouse, stores and coffee shops).
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Every second
our stores sell a sustainable coffee.
(Statement refers to the year 2019. Due to the pandemic, most Tchibo stores were closed in 2020). -
63 million
plastic bottles were recycled to make our textile products in 2020.
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97 %
of our product packaging is recyclable.
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4.200 workers and managers
have participated in the WE programme in 2020.
Is this enough?
We understand that our company has, for a long time, had a critical role to play when it comes to sustainability. We know that in some areas, Tchibo is still part of the problem. This is why it is all the more important for us to use our design expertise and business knowledge to become a bigger part of the solution with each day that passes.
For us, there is no alternative to fair working conditions, transparency and environmental protection.
The road is a long one, and we are always looking for solutions that will enable us to protect resources and the environment and to safeguard human rights. We are working to fill the gaps – swiftly and creatively.
