Plastic shipping mailers for organic tea?

Introduction

Now your Guayusa arrives in a plastic bag and you shake your head?

If you’ve been one of our customers for a while, you’ll have noticed that we’ve changed our shipping packaging several times over the years—from padded envelopes to kraft-paper mailers, then regular cardboard boxes and now plastic mailers. Why? We’d like to explain the thinking behind it, because we considered the change carefully.

100% RECYCLED

Our mailing bags are already made from 100% recycled plastic and can be recycled again and again through Germany’s yellow-bin system because we use simple, reusable plastic rather than a composite material.

NO FOREST CLEARING

At GUYA, we support rainforest reforestation and have already achieved a great deal. To follow the project, follow us on Instagram or check the updates in our dedicated article, “OUR SOCIAL PROJECTS”.

As a team, it increasingly felt odd to use cardboard boxes while actively campaigning against deforestation.

You might say: “But there’s cardboard made from sustainable sources or recycled paper!” That’s true. Unfortunately, the labels used for paper from sustainable sources are far from trustworthy. If you’ve seen the documentary about the FSC label (highly recommended), you’ll know that an FSC MIX box doesn’t actually have to contain anything sustainable; it only needs to leave that possibility open.

We wanted to distance ourselves from this altogether. Whether it’s local forests or the Amazon, a tree can take a lifetime to grow—around 10–20 years even for very fast-growing trees. What’s more, industrial tree monocultures are considered a sustainable source. But they aren’t! A spruce monoculture is just as harmful to soil and wildlife as a monoculture maize field, whether organic or not.

LESS WEIGHT AND TRANSPORT

Our packaging takes about 80% less space than conventional shipping boxes. It also weighs much less, saving on transport costs and CO₂ emissions.

REUSE AND RECYCLE

What can you do to help make our mailing bags reusable?

YELLOW BIN

Fortunately, Germany has a functioning recycling system. Our bag belongs in the yellow recycling bin. Please remove the shipping label first, then put it in the bin.

USE IT AS A BIN BAG

If you want to be extra eco-conscious—as we do in the office—use the bag for the plastic waste that households inevitably accumulate. You can then put the whole bag, contents and all, into the yellow bin.