Going green at Tugboat

We all know it’s important to reduce our impact on the environment and it’s clear that a series of small steps can add up to a big difference. We’ve been giving a lot of thought as to how we can help our customers help the planet.

Packaging is a tricky area for any supplier of tea and coffee; we need to be able to deliver both at their freshest, in a way that helps you keep that freshness once you get home. However, for all tea and online coffee orders, this isn’t possible as we need to ensure quality. At the moment, this is something we have yet to solve- but there are things that can be done. If you live near our Truro store, we can recycle your tea pouches for you. Our in-store coffee bags are 100% recyclable and/or compostable, as they’re paper. You can also bring in your own containers for coffee and some teas and save 10p every time you do so. Ordering online? Consider buying your favourites in bulk, saving on the amount of packaging in the long term. We also sell a range of tins and jars (in-store only) to store your tea, although if you’re really going for reduce, reuse, recycle you could use good sized jam jars or tins. In the meantime, we’ll keep our ear to the ground for other practical ways to solve the packaging problem!

As well as the packaging, there’s also the way you make your tea or coffee. It’s been well-publicised that a lot of the bigger companies have used plastic as part of their teabags. Loose leaf teas, used with a teapot or an infuser of your choice (including make-your-own teabags), cut down on this unnecessary plastic. If you’re gardener, you can reduce your waste even more by chucking both used tea leaves and coffee grounds and filters on your compost heap. Win/win!

A final and easy way to reduce your plastic use is to buy a reuseable cup. With a range of options, from the seriously stylish to the extremely practical, there is a cup for everyone. As a lot of cafes and takeaway coffee shops now offer discounts for those taking their own cups, it’s well worth investing in one if you’re a regular user.

Have we missed any tips? Let us know how we can help you have a more environmentally conscious cuppa!