Who buys empties, and why
Three profiles buy this line. Co-packers who fill tea for many client brands and need a filter that behaves identically across shifts. Brand owners who invested in their own filling line and want to control tea, packing and marketing while buying the consumable like any other input. And regional packers serving local roasters and blenders who need a dependable filter without import-level volumes of finished goods. All three share the same requirement: the bag is a machine part, not just packaging. Its seam, mesh openness, and tag glue have to behave on the customer's equipment, which is why this page spends more words on machine fit than on romance. Buyers who want the tea filled and packed for them belong on the filled pyramid program page.
Spec and options at a glance
| Spec item | Typical options |
|---|---|
| Material | Food-grade nylon (PET) or PLA corn fiber; paper variants on request |
| Format | Plain filters, or with hanging string and blank or printed tag |
| Filling weight | 2-3 g typical on standard lines; confirm against your machine |
| MOQ reference | 100,000-piece scale, typical reference range, confirmed in writing |
| Packing | Moisture-barrier cartons, palletized for volume |
| Documents | Food-contact material documentation and reports per lot |
Material and compliance notes
Both nylon (PET) and PLA are supplied as food-contact materials with documentation per lot; what varies is what your market lets you claim. PLA is plant-based, and degradability wording on packs is governed by local rules and the material report - a phrase that is acceptable in one market can be a violation in another, so claim wording is matched to the destination before artwork is printed. Nylon carries no biodegradability story at all and should never inherit one. The materials are compared functionally in the PLA versus nylon explainer, and the documentation discipline behind material claims sits under quality control. If your customer's brief mentions compostability, treat that as a certification question first and a marketing question second.
Machine-fit checks before you switch suppliers
Filters are consumables, but switching filter suppliers on a filling line is a production decision, and the checks are specific. Seam strength: pull-test samples to make sure the ultrasonic or heat seam survives your machine's handling. Mesh and seal behavior: run a trial batch and watch seal temperature and dwell - a filter that needs a different setting than your current stock costs more in changeover than it saves per thousand. Tag glue and string anchoring: pull the tag on a sample of every carton; the failure mode is invisible in the box and loud in the customer's cup. Empty-bag dimensions and cut: confirm the filled footprint matches your envelope or overwrap. The desk supplies trial quantities within a sampling order so these checks run on your line, not in a brochure.
Freight and storage realities
Empty bags are light but volumetric, so freight quotes are driven by cube more than weight - palletized cartons, sealed against moisture, ship most economically by sea for volume programs. Storage is unglamorous and important: filters absorb ambient odors, and a filter that smells of the warehouse will pass the smell through to the cup, so cartons stay sealed until they meet the filling room. Plastic film materials also prefer stable temperatures; long storage against heat sources is avoided. Rotate stock oldest-first and keep cartons off warm floors - cheap habits that matter more on a filter line than on any leaf order. Stock planning is simple arithmetic - your line's bags-per-shift figure times lead time, with a safety margin, against the MOQ reference above; the planning figures are confirmed in writing on the MOQ and lead time page.
How sampling works
Start by naming the machine and the filling weight; those two facts let the desk shortlist material and format in one reply. A sampling carton follows - plain and string-tagged variants in both materials if the choice is open - and the trial runs on your line under your settings. Only then does the order scale to the 100,000-piece reference, with lot documentation and retained samples so later batches compare against the approved one. When the trial passes, send volumes and destination to the quote desk and the standing supply comes back as a written offer; repeat orders against the retained reference are the quiet norm of this line.