Socially responsible tea packaging
This is something that we have been wrestling with for months now.
How to provide products in packaging that is re-usable and environmentally responsible.
There is a new rage in the tea world of a fancy albeit cool looking new tea bag or some call it a tea sachet (how elegant).
It contains (usually) quality loose leaf tea and is in the shape of a triangle. It allows you to have loose teas "on the go". What the manufacturers and merchants don't tell you is the bags are made of are made of a "high quality nylon that is heat tempered" and are NOT biodegradable.
Worse yet is the fact that large manufacturers are now "private labeling" these "revolutionary" bags so they are now available to every tea Tom, Dick and Harry to propagate our land fills with yet more plastics.
If there were going to be a revolution in tea, I would prefer it to be focused on Fair Trade implementation and less exploitation of tea estates, people and the planet.
The earth doesn't need a revolutionary tea that fills our dumps with more plastic products. Besides who knows what the long term effects of drinking plastics that have had boiled water poured over them or even been put in a microwave?
We have finally started to see major players in the tea arena get away from the bleached tea bags that they have been using for years. A step in the right direction... is this a classic case of one step forward two steps back?
Something to ponder over a cup of tea that is for sure.
How to provide products in packaging that is re-usable and environmentally responsible.
There is a new rage in the tea world of a fancy albeit cool looking new tea bag or some call it a tea sachet (how elegant).
It contains (usually) quality loose leaf tea and is in the shape of a triangle. It allows you to have loose teas "on the go". What the manufacturers and merchants don't tell you is the bags are made of are made of a "high quality nylon that is heat tempered" and are NOT biodegradable.
Worse yet is the fact that large manufacturers are now "private labeling" these "revolutionary" bags so they are now available to every tea Tom, Dick and Harry to propagate our land fills with yet more plastics.
If there were going to be a revolution in tea, I would prefer it to be focused on Fair Trade implementation and less exploitation of tea estates, people and the planet.
The earth doesn't need a revolutionary tea that fills our dumps with more plastic products. Besides who knows what the long term effects of drinking plastics that have had boiled water poured over them or even been put in a microwave?
We have finally started to see major players in the tea arena get away from the bleached tea bags that they have been using for years. A step in the right direction... is this a classic case of one step forward two steps back?
Something to ponder over a cup of tea that is for sure.
posted by Lady Babs at Wednesday, April 27, 2005
2 Comments:
I am ashamed to admit that for Yule I bought a tin of those sachet's at Starbuck's for a friend. I thought the idea of the larger opening for the herbs to expand was great, but the mesh wasn't.
I hope the idea doens't catch on.
Brightest tea blessings!
Ahh No shame in that, you didn't know. Hey, when I first saw them we thought they were cool. And nobody really wanted to tell me what they were made of. LOTS of people were down playing the nylon portion of it.
I wish they could make something like this that was re-usable. Though we have so many accessories on the market to choose from.
Thank you for your thoughts! They are greatly appreciated. :)
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