160 million teabags: that's the number Britain gets through every single day-- and almost all of them contain plastic. The bags are thrown in the trash or put in the compost, where the contents get washed into streams, rivers and out to sea, causing untold damage to the environment and our wildlife.

We’re at a critical juncture in the fight to save the planet. If we’re going to win we need companies like Tetley’s to do its bit and stop using plastic in its teabags. Co-Op has joined forces with its supplier Typhoo to remove all plastic from its teabags -- if they can do it, there’s nothing stopping Tetley’s doing the same.

Tetley’s: remove all plastic from your teabags and help the fight to save the planet!

Britain gets through 60.2 billion cups of tea each year, with an estimated 96% brewed using a teabag -- creating a huge amount of plastic pollution.

Co-Op CEO Jo Whitfield said, "[We] are looking at around 150 tonnes of polypropylene – that’s an enormous amount of accumulated plastic waste that is either contaminating food waste compost collections or simply going to landfill.”

Tetley’s: stop using polypropylene in your teabags!

Because of hundreds of thousands of SumOfUs members like you, companies are stepping up our efforts to tackle plastic waste. Last month we called for a ‘Latte Levy’ similar to Britain’s existing plastic bag charge: if you don’t bring a reusable cup, you pay a little more. It will take time to change the law -- which is why we’re calling on companies like Tetley’s to take responsibility.

We’re also taking on McDonald’s, whose plastic straws are clogging up our oceans and killing marine life. The good news is McDonald’s is starting to respond to pressure -- saying it will ditch polystyrene packaging, under pressure from shareholders. When we come together on issues like this, companies are forced to listen.

More information