In the United Kingdom, PG tips are replacing their polypropylene tea bag seals with a fully biodegradable corn starch version by the end of this year. The current tea bags are made mostly with paper but they use some polypropylene to seal the tea bag. Unilever owns the PG tips brand.
Noel Clarke, Vice President Refreshment, Unilever, told British Plastics that “the new-style bags are made using a new, innovative material that is 100 percent plant-based and at the cutting edge of science and technology.” Unilever has been looking into plant-based alternatives for the tea bags for a while and have converted some in Canada, Poland and Indonesia already.