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Numi Organic Tea, Jasmine Green (18 Plastic-Free Tea Bags)

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Numi Organic Tea

Numi Organic Tea

Jasmine Green, 18 tea bags per box, manila hemp cellulose bags

The tea bag itself is genuinely plastic free; this specific variety loses points on its wrapper, not the bag in the cup.

3 / 10 Medium plastic footprint $

Tea bags made from manila hemp cellulose with cotton strings, so nothing plastic steeps in your cup. Most pyramid style tea bags are nylon or PET and shed enormous particle counts into hot water; Numi bags avoid that entirely. The weak point for this exact variety is the wrapper, see below.

How this score breaks down

Plastic in the product and its packaging Some plastic
Numi states its wrappers are commercially compostable, with the exception of some Gunpowder Green and Jasmine Green wrappers, and this card is the Jasmine Green. We therefore score the wrapper as a conventional lined wrapper, not a compostable one. The exception comes from Numi's own FAQ.
Microplastic shedding and leaching Sheds very little
Plastic pyramid tea bags shed billions of micro and nano particles into hot water in published testing. A manila hemp cellulose bag with a cotton string avoids steeping plastic in the cup entirely.
End of life: persistence and recovery Persists somewhat
Only partly recoverable; some of it persists.
Plastic-derived chemicals of concern Some concern
Some plastic-linked chemistry is possible.
Transparency and disclosure Partly disclosed
Strong disclosure overall: bag, string, tag, and wrapper materials are all published. We verified B Corp and Climate Label in the registries. The Jasmine Green wrapper exception is stated by Numi itself, which is honest, but the certification badge wall does not surface it.

Strengths

  • No plastic in the tea bag, string, or tag
  • Unbleached bag material, non GMO verified per brand
  • B Corp and Climate Label both registry verified
  • Fair Trade certified garden sourcing for this tea per brand

Trade-offs

  • This exact variety is excepted from Numi's compostable wrapper claim
  • Wrapper contains PLA and a metalized layer and is not recyclable
  • Brand cites third party compostability certification as in progress, not complete

What's inside

Tea bags of unbleached manila hemp cellulose with cotton strings and recycled paper tags with soy inks, per the brand FAQ. Wrappers are FSC paper lined with sugarcane based PLA and a metalized eucalyptus layer.

PartMaterial
Tea bagManila hemp cellulose, unbleached, non GMO verified per brand
StringCotton
Tag100% recycled paper, soy based inks
WrapperFSC paper with plant based PLA lining and metalized eucalyptus layer
Outer boxPaperboard

Free of Nylon and PET tea bag mesh; plastic in the bag, string, and tag, per brand

Packaging
Numi states its wrappers are commercially compostable, with the exception of some Gunpowder Green and Jasmine Green wrappers, and this card is the Jasmine Green. We therefore score the wrapper as a conventional lined wrapper, not a compostable one. The exception comes from Numi's own FAQ.
Microplastics
Plastic pyramid tea bags shed billions of micro and nano particles into hot water in published testing. A manila hemp cellulose bag with a cotton string avoids steeping plastic in the cup entirely.

Attributes

What this product is, at a glance.

USDA Organic per brandNon GMO Project Verified per brandFair Trade Certified garden per brandPlant based wrapper lining

Certifications

Independent, third-party certifications only. Tap any badge to see what it verifies.

About Numi Organic Tea

Numi is an Oakland based organic tea company, a certified B Corporation since 2007 and Climate Label certified, both of which we verified in the certifier registries. It publishes unusually detailed pages on its tea bag and wrapper materials.

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Melissa Walker, founder of Thriving Sustainably

Hi, I’m Melissa-founder of Thriving Sustainably

Melissa Walker is the founder of Thriving Sustainably. A mom who started reading the labels after learning how much microplastic ends up in our bodies, she co-leads the environmental pillar of a Fortune 500 company’s employee sustainability program and rates brands against public certification databases so families can lower their microplastic exposure without the guesswork.