What are Tick Tock teabags made of?
We are so happy to say that all our Tick Tock teas now come in fully plant-based and 100% biodegradable teabags, free from polypropylene and all other petrochemical plastics. Our new improved boxes (without the plastic wrapper too) are on the shelves – so keep an eye out!
Because they are fully biodegradable, you can put these teabags in your Food Waste bin for composting by your local council. We ask you not to put them in your home composting as it won’t necessarily provide the right level of heat, pressure and microorganisms to ensure they fully break down in a timely manner. If you don’t have a Food Waste collection in your area, simply put the teabags in your general waste.
We see these changes as a first step in the right direction and we are going to constantly work to improve our packaging further, so do let us know if you have ideas!
What about our previous Tick Tock teabags?
Like most UK companies, in the past we had to use teabag paper made up of natural cellulose from wood pulp and a small amount of food safe polypropylene fibres (1% of total filled teabag weight). These fibres allowed the edges to be heat sealed and stopped the bags from falling apart in hot water or in the box.
Whilst we can reassure you that these fibres were not made of Nylon or PET (the subject of a Canadian study on microplastics that rightly had much media focus), we were unhappy with this state of affairs. We researched, tested and invested in an alternative, and now finally we have teabags to be proud of!
Our new look Tick Tock
Our biodegradable teabags come in boxes with a brand new look. At the heart of our design is rooibos, the wonder plant with all its amazing health benefits. Same delicious rooibos tea, but better for the environment. We hope you’ll like the new design as much as we do!