‘’It’s only 1 straw’’ - said 7.7 billion people

Every single day in the United States alone, 500 million straws are used and quickly discarded. That’s 175 billion straws and stir sticks a year filtering into landfills and littering our waterways and oceans. It’s a number that not too many people knew or thought much about until Milo Cress (9 years old at the time) helped to educate the country on just how much plastic straw waste we were contributing to. Find out below about a new alternative eco-friendly option that will change how the world sips, one straw at a time.  

While sipping on a single plastic straw as you enjoy your juice, soda, coffee, water or favorite cocktail might seem harmless, the moment that straw is tossed in the trash or recycling bin it has an extremely high likelihood of ending up in landfills or making its way to our oceans, lakes and riverways and staying there for centuries to come. Why? Because, as you might not realize - plastic straws are incredibly hard to recycle.

The challenge with plastic straws is their size and weight. As a plastic straw travels down a conveyor belt at a local recycling plant, it often falls through the cracks, missing the opportunity for recycling and instead - ending up in a landfill. Once there, it can take up to 200 YEARS to finally decompose. Let that sink in for a moment. 200 years!

If a straw ends up in our waterways, it can have a devastating impact on marine life. An estimated 71% of seabirds and 30% of turtleshave been found with plastics in their stomachs. When they ingest plastic, marine life have a 50% mortality rate. These facts just plain SUCK.

Several years ago a viral video (warning - graphic) helped bring awareness to the masses on just how detrimental a single plastic straw can be to our ocean marine life. It was an incredibly tough video to watch as a poor sea turtle had a plastic straw removed from its nostril with the help of several rescuers. Thankfully, the turtle survived, but we know this story is probably not the case for many, and the statistics above don’t lie. Bottom line - when you toss a plastic straw away, there is no ‘away’.

But, there is hope! 2018 has seen some massive changes in cities across the United States and Canada implementing bans on plastic straw usage at restaurants and hotels. Many restaurants have already jumped on board. Famous celebrities such as Adrian Grenier, Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchenare standing up for the movement and bringing awareness to the problem. And, a few start-ups are developing alternatives to plastic straws because of the understanding that consumers still want to use straws, whether that be out of habit, or necessity. Well guys, we’re excited to be one of these companies!

Just last week we released our Naturally Chic Raw Straw Collection, an eco-friendly alternative to harmful plastic straws. These little beauties are made from the by-product of wheat production, so, they are quite literally - STRAWS MADE OF STRAW! After the wheat is harvested, the decomposable stalks are used for various purposes such as animal feed - and in our case, drinking straws. And, although they are made from straw, there is no actual grain involved in the production of Naturally Chic Raw Straws which makes them gluten-free as well.

We realize that concerned consumers and business owners are currently faced with so many environmental challenges, and it’s often hard to know where to start or how to focus your efforts in order to make a difference. Start by choosing to SAY NO TO PLASTIC STRAWS and use more eco-friendly options in your restaurants, bars, hotels, and homes. It’s a simple step in the right direction and we hope you will join us on our journey to end harmful plastic straws forever!