Is There Plastic in Tea Bags? - Earth Friendly Tips

Feel free to share

Do Tea Bags Contain Plastic?

I love to drink tea. I enjoy the taste, and I always felt good knowing I was getting some beneficial antioxidants in every cup. So imagine my shock when I was shopping at our local farmers market and stumbled across an article questioning the addition of plastic in tea bags.

Wait, what?

Do manufacturers actually put plastic in tea bags?

Unfortunately, the answer is yes. Even more unfortunately, the impact on our health and the environment is just as bad as you might imagine.

The Problems With Plastic in Tea Bags

Plastic in a tea bag creates several problems for our health and the environment.

First, the obvious problem: plastic isn’t biodegradable or compostable. So if you toss your tea bag into your compost pile, you’re unknowingly leading to more plastic pollution since not all of it will break down.

The second concern has to do with our health. When plastic heats up, it leaches chemicals that can cause reproductive issues and possibly even cancer.

This is one reason why it’s so important to ensure you’re using an eco-friendly and non-toxic tea kettle when you heat your water.

While the main problem with plastic leaching chemicals is when it hits its melting point, another temperature that researchers are starting to study is the glass transition temperature.

Glass transition temperature is always lower than the melting point. In the case of PET and nylon — which are the most common types of plastic found in tea bags — the glass transition temperature is lower than the temperature of boiling water. This means the molecules in those plastic tea bags will begin to breakdown in warm water.

One study found that single-use PET plastic water bottles had estrogen-mimicking chemicals in them that have been linked to cancer. If the same PET plastic is in your tea bags, it’s likely leaching toxins directly into the tea you’re about to drink.

As a side note, this is why you should also consider getting plastic-free baby bottles and plastic-free sippy cups to help your kids avoid these plastics when they drink.

Which Tea Bags Contain Plastic?

At this point, you’re probably staring at your own tea bags and wondering if they contain plastic. There are three main types of tea bags: silky, pressed, and string-and-tag.

Silky Tea Bags

Silky tea bags are often in the shape of a pyramid and marketed as a luxury and higher quality tea bag. Although they’re called silky tea bags, they’re not made with silk. They’re made with plastic.

The tea bags are typically made using a fossil-fuel based plastic, such as PET or nylon. Yep, the same PET or nylon we just talked about above.

If you’re using one of these tea bags, you definitely have plastic in your tea bag.

Pressed Tea Bags

Pressed tea bags have crimped or pressed edges along the sides. They’re typically in the shape of a square, rectangle, or circle.

They’re made with two separate layers of paper stuck together. Since any type of glue the manufacturers would try to use to hold the paper together would melt in hot water, they use plastic.

The plastic is woven into the paper, heated until it melts, and stuck together. Also, some companies treat the tea bag paper with a chemical called epichlorohydrin to make it stronger. The EPA says this chemical could cause cancer in humans.

Again, if you’re using a pressed tea bag, you definitely have tea bags with plastic.

String-and-Tag Tea Bags

String-and-tag tea bags are pretty common. These bags fold over on the top and use a staple or stitching instead of melted plastic to stay closed. While you won’t be getting any plastic from the sealer, some brands do use plastic fibers to make their tea bags stronger.

If you use string-and-tag tea bags, you might or might not have plastic in your tea bag. It depends entirely on the brand you use.

How to Avoid Plastic in Tea Bags

By now, you might be thinking you have to stop drinking tea to avoid plastic. Fortunately, you don’t have to do that. There are two great options to enjoy some plastic-free tea.

Loose Leaf Tea

After learning all of this about tea bags, I decided to make the switch to loose leaf tea, and I love it.

I highly recommend this loose leaf tea from Sun & Swell Foods because it tastes great, is incredibly easy to make, and clean up is a cinch. Many of the varieties are also certified USDA organic, so you know they’re good for you and the environment.

Even better, Sun & Swell delivers these teas and other organic food right to your door in 100% compostable bags. This means you won’t have to deal with ANY excess plastic waste when you enjoy your tea.

If you decide to go with loose leaf tea, you’ll need a few extra supplies to make preparing your tea a little easier. First, you’ll need something to hold the tea while it’s steeping. I use two different items.

The first item I use is a mesh tea ball. You simply put the tea in the ball, snap it shut, and let it soak in the hot water. The other item I use is a ceramic mug with an infuser basket. Again, you just put the tea in the basket, pour in the water, and let it soak.

The mesh tea ball is smaller than the infuser basket. So if I’m making a cup that requires more loose leaf tea, I’ll use the basket instead of the ball.

Are you looking for other options you can use to make a zero waste cup of tea? Then be sure to check out this post on the best reusable tea bags!

When I’m done making my tea, I simply dump the leaves into my compost bin and rinse everything out. And just like that, I’m finished cleaning up!

Brands That Don’t Use Plastic

If you enjoy using a tea bag, you can find brands that make string-and-tag tea bags that don’t contain plastic. Some of the top brands to consider include:

Clipper- Clipper is a Fair Trade tea company that has switched all of its production over to plastic-free tea bags. The company also offers organic teas and is now starting to work on sustainable packaging initiatives.

Pukka Herbs- Pukka Herbs is another Fair Trade tea company that uses organic ingredients in its tea bags. Additionally, the company doesn’t use glue to seal its tea bags. Instead, the bags are sewn shut with cotton thread. The bags are staple-free and 100% biodegradable.

When you’re done brewing your cup of tea, don’t forget to check out these genius ways to reuse tea bags so nothing goes to waste. Whether it’s removing dark circles under your eyes or cleaning your windows, you’ll be surprised at all of the awesome things you can do with old tea bags!

Removing Plastic From Your Tea

While having plastic in a tea bag is a problem for your health and the environment, it doesn’t mean you have to skip drinking that cup of tea. Instead, choose one of these eco-friendly tea options to enjoy all the great health benefits of tea without the unnecessary additions.

More Eco-Friendly Tips

Are you interested in discovering even more simple tips that can help you live a more eco-friendly life? Then be sure to check out a few of our other popular articles: