We have our girls attending an environmental science school. What that means is, we are reminded, on a near daily basis, by our six-year-old that we should cut waste, recycle more and reuse as much as possible. One of her more recent focuses had centered on her little sister’s love of using straws. Miss LadyBug LOVES to drink with straws and it is one of the most common single-use plastic that ends up in our house because I had to give in on that, to ensure she would drink enough milk! I am happy to report, that we have now been able to eliminate the throwaway plastic straws, by introducing glass straws from GlassDharma. I received several glass straws in exchange for my honest opinion.
What did I think?
First, let me start by saying that I am simply blown away by the passion that GlassDharma has for eliminating plastic waste and its effect on our environment. I urge you to check out their website and educate yourself about the harmful effects of single use plastics on our planet and the astronomical size of waste that these seemingly benign plastic straws create. It is funny, that even I was guilty of thinking that it was just a “little plastic straw, how bad could it be?” when it came to plastic waste, but I was wrong. One of the things that got me thinking was posing the idea about isolating just fast food restaurants and the number of meals they serve each day. Most of those meals come with drinks and those drinks come with plastic straws. Just imagine how many little plastic straws that is and if you were to pile them into a room, just how much space and waste that would be! I am happy to be part of the glass straw club now and am excited to spread the word!
GlassDharma sent me four of their various glass straws to try and I have to say, I am hooked! From simple, plain clear glass straws for your everyday drinking to more decorative ones (that are also functional!) and even ones to accommodate your smoothies and other thicker drinks!
Overall, my favorite straw is the Decorative Dots “ice tea” sized glass straw. This is the perfect “everyday” straw and really fits my daughter’s needs for drinking. She uses it in the morning with her glass of orange juice and then after a quick wash (when you purchase a quantity of GlassDharma straws, a couple of the straws will have straw cleaners tucked into the box – these boxes will be labeled), the straw was ready to be used again with dinner and her glass of milk. I have found that these glass straws are durable, beautiful and functional. What I mean by functional is, the dots not only add a touchy of whimsy (which Miss LadyBug adores – though, she wishes it were red, so she could pretend it was a ladybug!), but if she places the straw on the table, it cannot roll away from her!
We also love the Beautiful Bends straw – this slightly longer straw with a slight bend to tilt toward your lips is wonderful for mixed drinks that I serve in my taller glasses.
The Verdict
I love that by one simple change (and overall, inexpensive, too!), we have further reduced our carbon footprint on the Earth. I would love to see more people take the glass straw challenge and start replacing plastic straws in their lives with these beautiful and functional glass straws from GlassDharma. Learn more about what GlassDharma is doing to help you cut back on waste and save the Earth on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.