Is Loose Tea Better for the Environment?

Here at BRUU we love loose tea.  It’s the only way we’ll drink it as we know it’s the only way to get the best taste from your tea leaves.  But did you know that there is another more serious reason to steer clear of tea bags…

Most major tea manufacturers use polypropylene in their teabags - that's Tetley, PG Tips, Clipper, Twinnings, Yorkshire Tea and many of the supermarket own-brand teas.  Polypropylene is a sealing plastic that keeps tea bags from falling apart.

Not a lot of people know how detrimental polypropylene is for your health.  It is particularly bad for the endocrine system. The endocrine system is the collection of glands that produce hormones that regulate metabolism, growth and development, tissue function, sexual function, reproduction, sleep, and mood, among other things. It can cause genetic mutations and even tumours. Ladies, polypropylene is bad for the reproductive system too, as it can mimic the female hormone estrogen causing an overload of it in the woman's body.  This is obviously going to cause problems with fertility and conceiving. Terrifying!

If that’s not bad enough polypropylene is plastic, therefore, is not biodegradable.  Just imagine how many teabags end up in landfills in the UK alone, never mind the rest of the world.

Most of the tea manufacturers using polypropylene in their tea bags are in the process of looking for a more environmentally friendly alternative but what can we be doing in the meantime? Stop using tea bags and go loose of course - or turn them into a handbag! We promise once you do, you’ll never go bag.