Disclaimer: I am often given products, services, etc in exchange for reviews. Despite this, all opinions are my own.
Click it to PIN it!
Sustainable Living Tips
This series is designed to showcase small, actionable steps that anyone can take in order to make your lifestyle more sustainable. It doesn’t matter what level of sustainable living you are already on. These tips are intended to help you more easily navigate this new “trend” of being kind to our earth. Let’s work hard to make it more than a trend. We can make it our lifestyle. Everything can be done in a sustainable way. Let’s tackle a new sustainable living issue today!
Quick Facts:
- The first known straws were Sumerian, found in tombs dating back to 3000 BC/BCE. They were made of gold. source
- “Americans use 500 million drinking straws every day. To understand just how many straws 500 million really is, this would fill over 125 school buses with straws every day. That’s 46,400 school buses every year!” source
- Over 6 million people watched the video of an endangered sea turtle with a straw stuck in his nostril. The researchers that discovered him very painfully removed the straw from his nose.
- Plastic straws are one of the most common top 10 items that are found during coastal cleanups. source
- “Common man-made pollutants that reach the ocean include pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers, detergents, oil, sewage, plastics, and other solids. Many of these pollutants collect at the ocean’s depths, where they are consumed by small marine organisms and introduced into the global food chain.” source
Straw Free’s bamboo straws
Several conscious people have teamed up and redesigned the traditional straw to make it more earth-friendly. Whether you want a glass or titanium straw, the choice is up to you. The important part is that you do choose them, and join me in saying “no straws please” and “I’m straw free!” There are straws for all types of drinks, from regular liquids like water or tea to smoothies!
I love these bamboo straws from Straw Free. Straw Free is an organization that focuses on creating solutions for the plastic pollution that we have created in the world. In addition to bringing light to this problem, they have developed a solution by creating straws from bamboo. The bamboo straws are created from bamboo stalks that are grown right in California. The Straw Free team harvests the bamboo stalks, cuts them to the correct straw length, cleans them and brands them with a “strawfree.org” engraving.
The bamboo straws are easy to clean and maintain – all you need is soap and water. Disposing of them won’t cause plastic pollution since they are a plant. Creating them doesn’t take a lot of water or energy. Bamboo straws are probably the most ingenious solution to the straw pollution problem.
Straw Favorites Update:
May 2023
It has been over 6 years since I have written this post, and I’ve tried a lot of different sustainable products in that time. Sustainable straws have, of course, been part of that ongoing trial. I have found that I don’t really like bamboo anything after several uses. Bamboo straws and utensils are hard to keep clean because if they stay wet too long, germs grow. I especially don’t like bamboo toothbrushes. My favorite straws to date are the Final Straw “Big Straw” (their metal straw holds liquid in the center and it can’t be cleaned) and simple stainless steel straws that aren’t super tiny.
Reusable sustainable straws of every type
Glass
- Simply Straws
- Strawesome Straws
Glass Dharma
Stainless Steel & Titanium straws
- U-Konserve
Eco at HeartThe Mulled Mind- Sippy
Bamboo & other Natural straws
- Bambu
- Brush with Bamboo
- Straw Free
Harvest Straws- HAY! Straws
Paper Straws
- Aardvark Straws
Susty Party
Silicone
Assorted Straws
- Package Free Shop
- FinalStraw (collapsable straw)
- Klean Kanteen
- KoffieStraw
- Mighty Nest
Straw Accessories
StrawSleeves- Siliskin Straw Tops
My sustainable straw challenge to you (and me):
Say it with me now: “I’m going to be straw free!” I challenge you to buy reusable and sustainable straws. The next time you buy fast food, tell them “no straws, please.” They may give you a crazy look, but don’t let that deter you. Take your plastic straw free drink home and use your sustainable straw to chug that sweet tea, or whatever you get. Afterwards, recycle your cup! Then, you’ve done it. You’ve played your part in helping to keep our world clean. I thank you, the sea turtles thank you, the oceans thank you, the air and the trees thank you. Thank you.
Did you find this article helpful?
Save it on Pinterest!
Leave a Reply