The traditional objection to silky nylon teabags has been that they
are not biodegradable. People who are concerned about the environment
may prefer the older form of teabag (made of plant-based fibers) or no
bag at all. Tea can be brewed in the traditional way, using a reusable
infuser, without a disposable bag, and this results in less waste.
It's also less expensive to buy bulk tea than to buy tea that is
pre-bagged.
The safety aspect of nylon teabags is not known. Although the bags are
food-grade nylon, some people believe that the exposure to extremely
hot water might cause small amounts of nylon to be consumed and/or
inhaled by the user. However, it should be noted that nylon food
containers designed for use in microwave ovens have been around for
quite a while, and these are generally accepted as safe. Cooking
utensils which are exposed to high heat, such as spatulas and oven
baking bags, have been made from nylon for many decades.
I have gathered some online information for you on the subject.
"Petroleum-based ('silky'), nylon tea bags... are not biodegradable,
and there have been no long-term studies on the effects of drinking
tea that have steeped in these bags."
World Pantry: Frequently Asked Questions
http://www.worldpantry.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ExecMacro/numitea/faq.d2w/report
"Tea bags often have a skeleton of nylon within the paper sachet. This
is non-biodegradable, as many home composters have discovered!"
Green Choices: Drink
http://www.greenchoices.org/drink.html
"DUBAI - A campaign for recycling papers and to replace the use of
anti-environment nylon bags with multi-use cloth bags was organised by
a team of Daw Al Akhdar TV show stressing the need for better
communications between recycling and paper waste producing companies.
Abdullah Mattar, a member of the team, said there was an urgent need
to bridge between these two types of activities to enable recycling of
the huge quantity of paper wastes...
'We brought to the shoppers' awareness the importance of protecting
the environment from sacs made of nylon, the material which is
considered among the number one enemy to the environment. It takes
thousand of years for nylon to dissolve and if so it produces
poisonous gases and substances that remains in the soil,' noted
Abdullah adding,' We wish people will opt to use bags made of cloth, a
material that is safe for the environment. However, these bags can of
multi usages and can be washed after each use,' he noted."
Khaleej Times: Call to replace nylon bags with cloth bags
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/Displayarticle.asp?section=theuae&xfile=data/theuae/2005/may/theuae_may512.xml
It should be noted that at least two brands of tea have silky tea bags
that are said to be biodegradable:
"Mighty Leaf Tea unveiled a full line of whole-leaf teas in
biodegradable mesh tea pouches. Introduced from the company that
originated the silken nylon tea pouch concept 10 years ago, these new
biodegradable pouches offer the industry new innovation. The entire
line of artisan-crafted tea blends are now available in this sheer
hand-stitched mesh fabric made of polylactic acid filaments derived
from cornstarch. The line, which will be available to consumers in
late summer 2005, includes Orange Dulce, Ginger Twist, and African
Nectar rooiboos. For more information, call 415-491-2650, or visit
www.mightyleaf.com."
Gourmet Retailer: The Boom in Bags
http://www.gourmetretailer.com/gourmetretailer/search/article_display.jsp?schema=&vnu_content_id=1000902371
Mighty Leaf Tea
http://www.mightyleaf.com/default.aspx
"Revolution Tea has come out with teas in biodegradable nylon tea
bags, including a chai blend with white tea leaves, and sells 15 bags
in metal canisters for $7.99."
Medill News Service: Trade Show Brings New Life to Old Beverage
http://mesh.medill.northwestern.edu/mnschicago/archives/2005/05/a_big_item_at_t.html
"Biodegradable Pyramid Tea bag
This revolutionary tea bag is woven from 100% polylactic acid
mono-filament yarn and is 100% biodegradable."
Revolution Tea
http://www.revolutiontea.com/t_organics.html?SID=b5d4fbc38c21bf6f824b541a8e3bdb05
My Google search strategy:
Google Web Search: nylon teabags OR "tea bags" environment OR environmental
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=nylon+teabags+OR+%22tea+bags%22+environment+OR+environmental
Google Web Search: nylon teabags OR "tea bags" safe OR safety OR health
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=nylon+teabags+OR+%22tea+bags%22+safe+OR+safety+OR+health
Google Web Search: nylon "tea bags" OR teabags biodegradable
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=nylon+%22tea+bags%22+OR+teabags+biodegradable
I hope this is helpful. If anything is unclear or incomplete, please
request clarification; I'll gladly offer further assistance before you
rate my answer.
Best regards,
pinkfreud |
