Packaging is quite rightly a hot topic, and choosing how we package our tea remains a thrilling challenge for our sustainability and innovation team. We are bound by a carefully considered balance of protecting the quality of our tea leaves whilst ensuring our packaging has minimal environmental impact.

Guided by packaging experts we have created a roadmap whereby we consider the impact of our packaging from a full lifecycle approach; this means looking at where the materials come from, right through to how likely they are to be recycled or composted in their given location. We won’t be swayed by buzz words or green claims that are unsubstantiated. Waste management infrastructure and policy varies so widely geographically, so we also carefully research the infrastructure in the countries our teas are most widely distributed in.

Our highest priority is encouraging the switch to loose leaf tea, made easy with our Loose Leaf Starter Kits.

WHAT ARE WE DOING NOW?

Reduce: Choose Loose

Our primary focus is on reduction in packaging. An integral part of our approach is empowering and enabling our customers to choose loose leaf tea over tea bags wherever possible. Loose leaf tea not only delivers the best drinking experience but uses less packaging and reduces waste. That’s why 100% of our teas are available as loose leaf and we give customers the tips and tools to enable the easy switch.

Invest & Test

Although the jury is still out on whether bioplastic compostable packaging is genuinely better for the environment than an easily recyclable traditional plastic, we’re investing in trialling biodegradable packaging options. We have materials currently in test phase and are guided by industry experts, such as WRAP , a leading climate action NGO in the UK, on compostable plastic packaging.

How to handle our packaging?

Our highest priority is encouraging the switch to loose leaf tea, made easy with our Loose Leaf Starter Kits.

Compost: Teabags

Our whole leaf tea bags have always been free from?traditional oil-based plastic. They are made of a plant-based?material?PLA??. PLA is biodegradable in industrial composters, so just pop your used teabags in your council food waste bin.

Recycle: Packs

Our loose leaf & unenveloped tea bag pouches are recyclable in the soft plastics recycling waste stream. In the UK, some councils collect this roadside, but many don’t, so we recommend taking empty packs to your local soft plastics recycling points. These are usually found at large supermarkets, to find out where your closest soft plastics recycling point is put your postcode in here .

The future

We will continue to trial novel packaging materials, and work with experts to understand the full lifecycle impact of each. We won’t make a switch until we are confident that a new material is truly better for the environment and can protect our tea quality sufficiently. We are committed to championing behaviour change, to get as many people as possible enjoying the many benefits of a great cup of loose leaf tea.