Packaging: Where We Are Now & Where We Want To Be
As part of our overall commitment to Doing Things Properly (an approach we work by) and what that means when it comes to Sustainability, the packaging across our range is under continuous review and we are always looking out for opportunities to do things better.
What do we look for when it comes to packaging?
As a tea business, we work hard to source delicious teas from around the world and then focus on helping you get the best possible flavour from every cup. The leaves have been expertly crafted at origin to ensure the best quality in every leaf and are then packed and shipped to us by boat. Great care is taken every step of the way to ensure that when the tea arrives with us at our Warehouse in the UK, it is just as packed full of flavour as when it left. With a focus on quality and ultimately providing you with delicious cups of tea, the environment is therefore not our only consideration when it comes to packaging. Here are the various factors we need to keep in mind:
1. Protects the flavour and aroma of the tea
The packaging we use to send our precious leaves to you plays a very important role in ensuring that at the final step of the way, the quality and freshness of the leaves remains intact and that the flavour and aroma upon opening it is just as exciting as when we first selected it.
2. Environmentally friendly
The reality is that every bag of tea we sell leaves its mark – from the leaves being plucked, processed, packaged, shipped, stored, blended and ultimately consumed, there is an impact, whether environmental or social, every step of the way. As a B Corp certified business, it is therefore our responsibility to minimise any negative impact on the environment, as well as ensure that any social impact is a positive one. Like all food businesses, when it comes to packaging that means balancing the need for efficacy with keeping packaging waste to a minimum. That isn’t only about what happens to the materials after they’re used either - it should take into consideration the impact of getting those materials to the UK, the manufacturing process, their durability to minimise waste and more. In short, it’s complicated. The waste hierarchy of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle is a helpful guide to keep in mind when thinking about packaging and we therefore try to keep it as light and natural as possible without compromising on the quality of our product.
3. User friendly
It might not seem as important as delicious flavour in your cup or protecting the planet, but making sure that the experience of making a cup of tea (or indeed storing your tea) is a good one is something we rank pretty highly. After all we want you to look forward to reaching for that bag of tea every day. Bad packaging can be frustrating, so it must be fit for purpose for the end user.
4. Fit for purpose
Finally, there are a myriad of operational requirements to consider too, from standing up on shelf to fitting neatly into outer cases and of course the packaging needs to be economically viable. That is not to say it needs to be the cheapest - far from it, the best options rarely are when you consider the above points - but the numbers of course need to stack up somehow.
Two logos have been added to our packaging to convey our brand commitments:
Certified B Corp:
At the end of 2023, we became a certified B Corp, proudly joining over 10,000 other businesses on a mission to use Business as a Force for Good™. B Corps are companies that have been verified by B Lab to meet high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.
B Lab is a non-profit network on a mission to redefine business as usual, transforming the current economic landscape towards an inclusive, equitable and regenerative economy that benefits all stakeholders -workers, customers, communities, and the environment.
B Corps are essential for helping to drive this change, and we are incredibly proud to be part of the movement. Doing Things Properly is at the heart of how we have always run Good & Proper, but B corp provided an even clearer framework for ensuring we were living that day to day.
Buy Women Built:
Good & Proper was founded by Emilie in 2012 and continues to be run by a majority female identifying team. Buy Women Built aims to use the power of everyday spending to drive change, highlighting brands founded by women in an effort to boost the UK’s rate of female entrepreneurship (currently 30% lower than other developed nations), and increase the visibility of female founded businesses across the UK.
As part of our overall commitment to Doing Things Properly and what that means when it comes to Sustainability, the packaging across our range is under continuous review and we are always looking out for opportunities to do things better. With that in mind, we’ve made updates to this page, sharing our progress beyond our at-home range of tea bags and loose leaf teas. You'll also find a simple guide for how to dispose of our packaging in the most environmentally friendly way.
What is all the fuss about plastic?
The following simple 'circular economy' principle is one that helpfully summarises what we should all be working towards:
‘Increasing the use of materials that Nature can handle and eliminating the use of those Nature can’t’.
Again, it is about minimising any negative impact we have on our planet as we go about doing business, and plastics (while having a host of unparalleled qualities) are not ideal for a number of reasons in that regard. Not only are they problematic from an end of life recyclability perspective meaning they stick around far too long, getting into our water and harming ecosystems, they are also usually made from non-renewable materials such as oil at the start of their life.
There has been a lot of media attention given to the use of plastic in tea bags in particular. While many of the leading tea brands in the UK use a small amount of plastic to seal their paper bags, others moved to pyramid bags made of Nylon, which were discovered to leak high volumes of micro-plastics into your tea. Thanks to focusing the lens on that particular plastic issue and the resulting pressure from consumers, many of those brands are now looking to move to plastic-free options like ours.
Where we are now
Bearing in mind all of the above, you can see that this is no simple task. Instead of looking for the ‘perfect’ solution (one thing is for sure, that doesn’t exist), we try to focus on continuous improvement, always looking for the ‘least worst’ option accessible to us and keeping up with innovations as they become available.
Below is a summary of where we are now (updated March 2026),, as well as where we'll be focusing next:
Our Tea Bags
Our tea bags and string are made from a material called SOILON, a natural, plant-based material derived from cornstarch, while the tag is made from paper. Finally the whole thing is sealed using heat - so no plastic to speak of. That means each tea bag in its entirety is fully compostable and in the right conditions will break down into just CO2 and water.
How best to dispose of them?The tea bags are industrially compostable and are therefore best disposed of in your food waste bin. Once collected by your local council, the tea bags will be broken down under industrial conditions within 8-12 weeks.
The Inner Bag (both loose leaf and tea bag retail boxes)
The clear inner bag inside your retail boxes (the one that looks just like plastic) is in fact made from a renewable wood-pulp called Natureflex. Once heat-sealed, this new bio-film is airtight as well as providing heat resistance, ensuring it protects the tea inside, while also being fully compostable along with the tea bags inside it.
How best to dispose of them?
This film is in fact fully compostable, marine degradable and approved to an OK Home Compost standard (it even enhances soil quality) so it will break down in your home compost, but failing that your food waste bin is the best place for it. Once collected by your local council, the Natureflex will be broken down in industrial conditions within 8-12 weeks.
The Outer Carton
Our colourful outer cartons are made from FSC certified cardboard. FSC stands for Forest Stewardship Council, an international non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting responsible forestry. That means any wood used in their production must conform to the highest environmental and social standards of forestry. The cartons are 100% plastic-free and fully recyclable.
How best to dispose of them?
These are best disposed of in your home recycling bin, where your local council will be able to convert the waste materials into new material for further use.
Loose Leaf Tea Leaves
It goes without saying that choosing to drink loose leaf tea is the best decision you can make for the environment, as the leaves are of course a completely natural, organic material and therefore fully compostable. Indeed your flower beds will love these nutrient-rich leaves as they’re easily decomposed and will soon start giving goodness back to the soil.
How best to dispose of them?
Sprinkle them onto the soil in your garden or put them into your food waste bin.
Our Matcha tins
Each of our House Matcha, Signature Matcha, and Hojicha Powder tins are made of tinplate and is air, light and moisture tight - an essential attribute for the storage of Matcha which is even more sensitive than other teas.
How best to dispose of them?
The best thing you can do is give these little tins another life - we love using them for herbs and spices as they keep them fresh. Failing that, the tins are fully recyclable so should go into your home recycling bin.
Wholesale packaging & at-home large pack sizes
After tackling sustainable packaging for our at-home customers, we turned our attention to our largest at-home packs and Wholesale packaging, and made changes to these in 2025.
The problem
Our previous foodservice bags were multi-layer kraft and not recyclable. Packaging is a meaningful part of our footprint, so we set out to find a better option without compromising product quality.
The solution
With support from Grounded Packaging, we moved to fully recyclable LDPE pouches made from 65% post-consumer recycled material, meaning that though this is plastic, our extensive research supports this being the best solution possible. The new format protects the tea, reduces impact and supports a more circular approach.
The results
A significant carbon reduction across all sizes (35.14% reduction on our 100g bags, 52.9% reduction on our 1kg bags, and 29.3% reduction on our 2.5kg bags). Plus the new bags are circular in two ways: made from recycled content and fully recyclable again. A meaningful win, and a blueprint for the kind of packaging decisions we want to keep making.
How best to dispose of them?
We know that disposal options vary significantly depending on local council policies and waste collection providers for our wholesale partners. Therefore, we have included a QR code on the back of each pack that customers can use to find out the recycling instructions for the bag in their jurisdiction. Visit Recycle Now and type in 'coffee pouch' for recycling instructions in your area.
So what’s next?
Our full packaging range is now 100% recyclable. Whilst celebrating this achievement, we want to progress further on the ambitious ‘Toward Net Zero’ goals shared in our 2025 Impact Report. Packaging plays a fundamental role in this, and our next step is to improve our carbon data to help us achieve Net Zero Carbon Scopes 1, 2 and 3 by 2050.
As always, we’ll keep you posted with our progress and always welcome your input so do get in touch at hello@goodandpropertea.com if you have any ideas to share!
