Drink Up with No Strings Attached

A little change that reduces landfill waste by 3.5 million pounds a year.

There is a chill in the fall air today, and I pulled out my box of individual tea bags to warm up. While waiting for my water to boil, I read the tea box and learned that the brand of tea I had in my cupboard was an eco-friendly choice.

The manufacture of Celestial Seasonings Tea has individual tea bags; however, they do not use strings, tags, staples, or individual wrappers for their bags.

These little itty bitty packaging changes have a big impact – reducing landfill waste by 3.5 million pounds every year. Huh... just from a simple packaging change.

I happen to like the taste of their teas, but always thought it was a bit of a pain to use a spoon to fish out the bag, instead of having a handy dandy string to pull it out, but I liked the taste of their teas, so it was worth the effort. Now I realize that minor little inconvenience is actually a big benefit to our environment. Now I feel GOOD about using a spoon instead of a string!

Consider making a simple change by looking for teas that have minimal packaging. Loose tea leaves bought in bulk are probably the best path, but if that is not to your taste, look at how the tea is packaged and opt for brands that have the least amount of packaging surrounding their tea leaves.

On a similar note, I’ve learned from experience that some tea bags are made from synthetic materials and they do not compost (even after several years). There is no need for that type of packaging, when there are so many eco-friendly options available.

So, drink up with no strings attached!