The Environmental Impact of Matcha Farming: What American Consumers Should Know

December 27, 2025 Isshiki Matcha

Matcha’s Green Image—But Is It Really Green?

Let’s be real—matcha has a halo. It’s marketed as the go-to drink for clean energy, mindfulness, gut health, and glow-up vibes. The rich green powder shows up in smoothies, lattes, protein bars, and even skincare. It’s earthy, healthy, and full of antioxidants. So naturally, most people assume it’s eco-friendly, too.

But here’s the thing: just because something is healthy for you doesn’t mean it’s healthy for the planet.

As matcha becomes a $4 billion industry—especially driven by rising demand in the U.S.—it’s time to ask some important questions:

How sustainable is matcha farming?
What kind of environmental footprint does that vibrant green powder carry?
And how can American matcha drinkers make smarter, greener choices?

Spoiler alert: matcha can absolutely be part of a sustainable lifestyle—but only if you know what’s behind the label.

Understanding How Matcha Is Grown

Before we talk sustainability, you’ve got to understand how matcha is actually made—because it’s not like tossing regular green tea leaves into hot water.

Ceremonial matcha comes from shade-grown tea plants, usually from regions like Uji or Nishio in Japan. Farmers cover the plants with black mesh or straw for 2–4 weeks before harvest. This increases chlorophyll, boosts L-theanine, and deepens the green color.

Then, only the youngest, top-tier leaves are picked by hand, steamed, dried, and stone-ground into a fine powder.

Sounds artisanal? It is. But it also means:

More labor
More time
More inputs (like bamboo shading structures)
Lower yield per plant

In short, growing ceremonial matcha takes more from the land and more from the farmer. And when global demand skyrockets, that pressure multiplies.

Matcha vs. Regular Green Tea: Environmental Differences

Let’s compare.

Feature	Regular Green Tea	Ceremonial Matcha
Shade-grown?	No	Yes
Hand-picked leaves?	Sometimes	Always
Processing method	Rolled or crushed	Steamed + stone-ground
Yield per harvest	Higher	Lower
Packaging style	Loose or bagged	Tins, sachets, airtight jars

Matcha, especially ceremonial-grade, has a heavier environmental load per gram compared to green tea bags. It's a premium product, and that premium comes with sustainability trade-offs.

So while matcha might be healthier to drink, it’s not automatically greener to produce.

The Carbon Footprint of Imported Matcha

Here's a hard pill to swallow for the matcha lovers in New York or L.A.—your ceremonial grade powder likely flew 7,000+ miles to get to your pantry.

That’s a whole lot of:

Jet fuel
Cold-chain logistics (matcha is sensitive to heat and light)
Packaging layers to preserve freshness

While some matcha is shipped by sea, air freight is common for high-grade ceremonial batches, since freshness affects flavor and color. That bumps up the carbon footprint significantly.

And since the U.S. doesn’t grow matcha-quality tea on a commercial scale, this isn’t something we can solve locally just yet.

Water Usage in Matcha Production

Tea is generally considered less water-intensive than coffee or almonds, but matcha farming still depends heavily on water for:

Irrigation during dry seasons
Steaming the leaves post-harvest
Cleaning tools and processing equipment

Climate shifts in Japan have already led to unpredictable rain patterns, meaning some farms rely more on controlled irrigation, which increases usage.

Organic farms tend to use less water and no chemical runoff, which helps maintain healthier surrounding ecosystems.

Soil Health and Monocropping in Tea Farms

Tea is often grown as a monoculture, meaning large areas of land are planted with the same crop—year after year. While this works economically, it’s rough on the soil.

Without biodiversity, soil:

Loses essential nutrients
Becomes more prone to pests and disease
Requires more fertilizers (often synthetic)
Erodes faster over time

Conventional matcha farming, especially when trying to meet massive export demand, can fall into this trap. The pressure to produce more matcha leads to shortcuts like pesticide use, chemical fertilizers, and overharvesting.

The better alternative?

Organic and regenerative farming methods.

These practices focus on:

Rotating crops or using cover crops between tea harvests
Composting and natural fertilizers
Encouraging native plant growth and insect biodiversity
Resting soil between harvests

If your matcha doesn’t come from a farm that respects the land, it might be costing the environment a lot more than you think.

Packaging Waste and Matcha Culture in the U.S.

In the U.S., matcha is now a lifestyle product—and that often means heavy branding, fancy packaging, and tons of waste.

We’re talking:

Foil sachets inside plastic pouches
Cardboard boxes, plastic scoops, and extra inserts
Overbuilt tins that get tossed after a few uses
“Starter kits” with tools you don’t actually need

It’s all about shelf appeal—but it creates a huge packaging footprint, especially when people consume matcha daily.

So what can you do?

Buy in bulk instead of single-serve packets
Choose brands using recyclable, compostable, or minimal packaging
Repurpose or recycle tins and jars
Skip the “extras” (like plastic scoops or promo swag)

Remember: sustainability starts with how you buy—and how you store.

The Rise of Organic and Biodynamic Matcha Farms

Thankfully, not all matcha farming is extractive. Some Japanese tea farms are leading the way in sustainable, regenerative, and biodynamic practices.

These farms:

Skip synthetic pesticides and fertilizers
Use natural shade covers like reeds or bamboo
Harvest by hand, reducing machinery emissions
Compost tea waste to enrich the soil
Let insects and birds do the pest control

Look for certifications that signal this kind of commitment:

USDA Organic (when imported)
JAS (Japan Agricultural Standard)
Rainforest Alliance or Biodynamic (Demeter Certified)

These seals aren’t perfect—but they’re a solid first step toward sourcing matcha that doesn’t exploit the earth.

Labor Ethics and Environmental Justice

It’s easy to focus on the land—but what about the people behind your matcha?

Many matcha farms in Japan are still small, family-run operations, especially in Uji and Nishio. But the rise of mass matcha production for export has introduced more industrial models that:

Overwork harvesters during high-demand seasons
Undercut smallholders with mass-scale prices
Prioritize output over ethics or worker health

When you choose ceremonial matcha from a transparent, ethically sourced farm, you’re not just supporting clean energy—you’re supporting fair livelihoods and community resilience.

Sustainability is holistic. You can’t separate the health of the planet from the well-being of the people who farm it.

Climate Change and Its Effects on Matcha Regions

Japan’s matcha-growing areas are already feeling the heat—literally.

Climate change is bringing:

Unpredictable frosts that kill young leaves
Longer rainy seasons that delay harvest
Hotter summers that alter flavor profiles
New pests and diseases in previously stable regions

Some farms are adapting by:

Investing in shade innovations
Using AI and data for smarter irrigation
Shifting harvest schedules
Growing at higher altitudes to escape heat stress

But these solutions aren’t accessible to everyone. The more climate-resilient matcha becomes, the more expensive it may be—which puts pressure on both farmers and consumers.