Core77

FinalStraw: This Folding Metal Straw is Killing It on Kickstarter!

It's not silly. It's better for the environment

By Rain Noe - April 23, 2018

in Sustainable Design

I understand that you don't want your smoothie messing up your moustache, but plastic drinking straws are stupid. They're not recyclable, and it's absurd to use something once that then gets thrown away. Drinking straws are easily carried off of garbage piles by the wind, so it's no surprise that they wind up in the ocean, where aquatic creatures choke on them.

The UK is mulling a plastic straw ban; one estimate has them responsible for placing 8.5 billion straws in the trash each year. The U.S. is of course far worse--we go through 500 million straws a day--and thankfully U.S. cities like Seattle, Miami and Malibu are banning restaurants from distributing them.

Then there's FinalStraw, a folding, cleanable metal straw that might sound like a silly product design, but which has far-reaching potential:

Enter a caption (optional)

Incredibly, and hearteningly, at press time FinalStraw had netted $433,823 in pledges on a piddling $12,500 goal! And there's still 25 days left in the campaign.

o
2

Favorite This
Q
5

Comment

Comments

Jeff Bianco

6 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

You are probably all too young to remember, but paper straws used to be the standard. I am guessing that straws originally were short sections of straw.

In any case, why not at least revert to paper?

!Report as spam
Ross Oliver

6 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

The 500 million per day figure is of questionable origin:
https://reason.com/blog/2018/01/26/a-list-of-the-500-million-news-orgs-that
In God We Trust, all others must provide references.

!Report as spam
N G

6 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

This will sit unused in 11807 people's drawers (at the time of writing) and not one less plastic straw will be produced.

!Report as spam
P Z

6 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

I wonder if people adopt reusable straws, but still use plastic lids on everything, is much really being accomplished. At the moment switching to coffee cup style sippy lids seems like it'd have a more immediate effect than hoping customers bring their own straw.

!Report as spam
Liam O'Brien

6 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

Great message and nice execution, but $30 recommended retail!?
Here is literally the first entry on ebay.com for stainless straw (8 straws and 3 cleaners for $4.16):
https://www.ebay.com/itm/8Pcs-Stainless-Steel-Metal-Drinking-Straw-Straws-with-3-Cleaner-Brush-Kit-Tools/182976399573?epid=25011348025&hash=item2a9a3e48d5:g:lWEAAOSwevlaPGzD

Not as convenient and gimmicky as the folding one, but completely plastic-free and probably longer lasting (no moving parts or TPE to wear out over time).

!Report as spam