Sustainable Tea Packaging

Tea packaging requires careful thought. For each tea, we must decide the best way to preserve its freshness and ensure the tea in your cup remains the tea we so carefully selected.

At Dragonfly, sustainability is just as important a consideration. We use biodegradable and recyclable materials wherever we can and continue to seek alternatives for where we can’t (yet!).

And we know you care too! We’re often asked about eco-friendly packaging. Plastic-free tea bags vs plant-based-plastic? Compostable or biodegradable tea bags? Is our tea packaging recyclable?

Read on to find out!

We have two different types of tea bag. Our string & tag tea bags are plastic-free and staple-free. They are not heat-sealed but rather folded and stitched with an organic cotton string. Our pillow tea bags are made from 100% plant-based materials and contain no plastics derived from petrochemicals. The paper is made from cellulose (wood pulp) and is heat-sealed with fibres derived from corn starch (rather than polypropylene plastic).

Yes! Our string & tag folded tea bags are certified home compostable. Our pillow tea bags are also compostable however we don't recommend that you compost them at home - your home compost might not provide the right level of heat, pressure and microorganisms to ensure they fully break down. Instead, add them to your food waste bin or household bin for your local authority to collect for industrial composting. If you want to add your used tea leaves to your home compost then open the tea bag and add them to your compost pile, ensuring the emptied teabags are added to your food waste bin for collection.

All our outer boxes and envelopes are recyclable with your household paper, and so are the tags on our string & tag tea bags. The inner pouches that contain our pillow tea bags are recyclable as plastic at large supermarkets. The pouch we use for our loose-leaf teas is not currently recyclable or compostable, and will need to be disposed of in your general household bin. We hope to move to a better solution very soon!

Explore our full tea range here.