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To cut costs companies typically make teabags out of polypropylene plastic instead of paper or alternatives. The problem is not a lack of alternatives but that

To cut costs companies typically make teabags out of polypropylene plastic instead of paper or alternatives. The problem is not a lack of alternatives but that people aren’t aware (or don’t care) that they are made of plastic. I mean, it looks like paper. It’s a good thing that they are using this seaweed but it’s not a “solved problem” until the negative PR cost to these companies is higher that the cost of using non plastic alternatives. I just don’t understand why more companies are not using this in their marketing campaigns. … It’s almost as if there there really is no competition at all. It’s almost as if most brands are owned by the same company. Unilever ;)

chrisseaton 5y ago
> To cut costs companies typically make teabags out of polypropylene plastic instead of paper or alternatives. That's funny - I think plastic teabags are the premium option. Cheaper (and the majority of) tea bags are paper. They are sealed with a plastic glue - but they're trying to move away from that. A fully plastic tea bag is definitely an unusual product and almost certainly some kind of premium design. For example https://www.yorkshiretea.co.uk/brew-news/our-use-of-plastic https://www.yorkshiretea.co.uk/brew-news/our-use-of-plastic
- davidhyde 5y ago
  That was 2018, this is now: https://www.yorkshiretea.co.uk/our-packaging https://www.yorkshiretea.co.uk/our-packaging You’re correct though, you can consider the 25% plastic in the bag as a “glue” but plastic is plastic and polypropylene takes hundreds of years to break down.
- kgc 5y ago
  Plastic mesh tea bags release tons of microplastics into your drink: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49845940 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49845940
  - chrisseaton 5y ago
    Isn’t that exactly what I said? ‘Premium tea bags’.
Something1234 5y ago
How can I be absolutely sure that my tea bags do not have plastic in them? That's so gross. I like buying a lot of tea from Asia and small companies. I'm not that big of a fan of loose leaf just because it's less convenient to brew.
- lstodd 5y ago
  The answer is, and while it might be taken as rude: just learn how to brew and enjoy tea. Tea bags have nothing to do with tea. It's that simple. Having said that, the plastic tea bags usually have better "tea" in them.
  - chrisseaton 5y ago
    > Tea bags have nothing to do with tea Seems like a stretch to make this argument...
    - dvtrn 5y ago
      I’m baffled as to how
- pvaldes 5y ago
  Absolutely sure? Culturing your own tea at home. As long as your climate is correct and you have a temperate garden, is not a difficult plant to grow or harvest.
  - doublepg23 5y ago
    do you have any articles on this?
    - pvaldes 5y ago
      Nope, just experience
    - DoingIsLearning 5y ago
aaron695 5y ago
> To cut costs companies typically make teabags out of polypropylene plastic instead of paper or alternatives. We get it, you fear science and plastics, they are devil. This is a fully dissoluble bag. What company makes that out of plastic? How would that work with tea bags? What they are doing is cool, a new tech that you can consume because it dissolves. Also made from seaweed, a resource we can harvest on mass without the same environmental destruction required on land. Why do we have to bring this religious garbage into it every single time. It's not on topic. It just puts the people who actual believe in science off. Why can't we just enjoy the shared experience of a cool new tech.
makeitdouble 5y ago
> why more companies are not using this in their marketing campaigns It might be an effect of the basic premise of teabags. Customers caring enough about waste, eco behaviors etc. already have a decent alternative: loose leafs. Compared to other infusion beverages, the jump from teabags to loose leafs isn’t that big, which makes it harder to mark a clear big eco conscious claim on teabags. Arguably there has been more traction on biodegradable nespresso pods for instance.
- ajsnigrutin 5y ago
  Aren't teabags just thin paper, cotton strng, and a printed piece of paper on the other side? ...so biodegradable in a very easy way already, even if you just throw them on the ground somewhere?
  - dflock 5y ago
    Some teabags either are plastic (which is generally fairly obvious) or contain plastic elements for re-enforcement or sealing (which is often not obvious) - these ones mostly just look like paper.
    - ajsnigrutin 5y ago
      I remember those 'levitating tea bag' experiments (empty up a tea bag, open it up as an open ended cylinder, light the bottom part on fire, and it flies up), and I never smelled anything plasticky.... there are either really miniscule ammounts, or they just don't use plastics here.
      - yunohn 5y ago
        > really minuscule amounts That’s just as bad: “ Microplastics: Premium teabags leak billions of particles - study” - https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49845940 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49845940
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
cout 5y ago
Hmm, I used to compost my tea bags many years ago when I had a compost bin. It never occurred to me that it might not be paper; they broke down completely enough that I couldn't tell.

chrisseaton 5y ago

> To cut costs companies typically make teabags out of polypropylene plastic instead of paper or alternatives. That's funny - I think plastic teabags are the premium option. Cheaper (and the majority of) tea bags are paper. They are sealed with a plastic glue - but they're trying to move away from that. A fully plastic tea bag is definitely an unusual product and almost certainly some kind of premium design. For example https://www.yorkshiretea.co.uk/brew-news/our-use-of-plastic https://www.yorkshiretea.co.uk/brew-news/our-use-of-plastic

davidhyde 5y ago
That was 2018, this is now: https://www.yorkshiretea.co.uk/our-packaging https://www.yorkshiretea.co.uk/our-packaging You’re correct though, you can consider the 25% plastic in the bag as a “glue” but plastic is plastic and polypropylene takes hundreds of years to break down.
kgc 5y ago
Plastic mesh tea bags release tons of microplastics into your drink: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49845940 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49845940
- chrisseaton 5y ago
  Isn’t that exactly what I said? ‘Premium tea bags’.

Something1234 5y ago

How can I be absolutely sure that my tea bags do not have plastic in them? That's so gross. I like buying a lot of tea from Asia and small companies. I'm not that big of a fan of loose leaf just because it's less convenient to brew.

lstodd 5y ago
The answer is, and while it might be taken as rude: just learn how to brew and enjoy tea. Tea bags have nothing to do with tea. It's that simple. Having said that, the plastic tea bags usually have better "tea" in them.
- chrisseaton 5y ago
  > Tea bags have nothing to do with tea Seems like a stretch to make this argument...
  - dvtrn 5y ago
    I’m baffled as to how
pvaldes 5y ago
Absolutely sure? Culturing your own tea at home. As long as your climate is correct and you have a temperate garden, is not a difficult plant to grow or harvest.
- doublepg23 5y ago
  do you have any articles on this?
  - pvaldes 5y ago
    Nope, just experience
  - DoingIsLearning 5y ago

aaron695 5y ago

> To cut costs companies typically make teabags out of polypropylene plastic instead of paper or alternatives. We get it, you fear science and plastics, they are devil. This is a fully dissoluble bag. What company makes that out of plastic? How would that work with tea bags? What they are doing is cool, a new tech that you can consume because it dissolves. Also made from seaweed, a resource we can harvest on mass without the same environmental destruction required on land. Why do we have to bring this religious garbage into it every single time. It's not on topic. It just puts the people who actual believe in science off. Why can't we just enjoy the shared experience of a cool new tech.

makeitdouble 5y ago

> why more companies are not using this in their marketing campaigns It might be an effect of the basic premise of teabags. Customers caring enough about waste, eco behaviors etc. already have a decent alternative: loose leafs. Compared to other infusion beverages, the jump from teabags to loose leafs isn’t that big, which makes it harder to mark a clear big eco conscious claim on teabags. Arguably there has been more traction on biodegradable nespresso pods for instance.

ajsnigrutin 5y ago
Aren't teabags just thin paper, cotton strng, and a printed piece of paper on the other side? ...so biodegradable in a very easy way already, even if you just throw them on the ground somewhere?
- dflock 5y ago
  Some teabags either are plastic (which is generally fairly obvious) or contain plastic elements for re-enforcement or sealing (which is often not obvious) - these ones mostly just look like paper.
  - ajsnigrutin 5y ago
    I remember those 'levitating tea bag' experiments (empty up a tea bag, open it up as an open ended cylinder, light the bottom part on fire, and it flies up), and I never smelled anything plasticky.... there are either really miniscule ammounts, or they just don't use plastics here.
    - yunohn 5y ago
      > really minuscule amounts That’s just as bad: “ Microplastics: Premium teabags leak billions of particles - study” - https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49845940 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49845940
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]

cout 5y ago

Hmm, I used to compost my tea bags many years ago when I had a compost bin. It never occurred to me that it might not be paper; they broke down completely enough that I couldn't tell.