Month: May 2018

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How to Care for Your Bamboo Straws

Your sustainable bamboo straws are extremely strong and durable, but they still need to be taken care of. These are eco-friendly and all-natural; any natural thing will end its lifespan. Here is to hoping the lifespan is over after it has fulfilled its purpose.  So take care of your straws, and use it up to its last breath. Below is how you can make the world a better place by taking care of your bamboo straws.

First Sip
Once you happily receive your bamboo straws, clean it with hot water and dishwashing soap. The bamboo straws are handmade, and have undergone no chemical process. So, it will be useful to clean before your first sip – or not if you’re adventurous. You may then rinse your bamboo straw and dry immediately for keeping. Or use straightaway on your favorite drink! However, keep in mind to always dry your bamboo straw when you are finished with it.

Daily Use
Wash your bamboo straws after every use. A rinse under the tap would suffice, but you may wash it with dishwashing soap on a daily basis. Just remember to dry your bamboo straws immediately after. Bamboo straws dry quickly! Soaking or keeping them wet for too long a period may weaken the bamboo.

Storage
Aside from keeping your bamboo straws dry, keep them well-ventilated as well. Do not store in airtight containers. You may keep them in their carrying pouch. These pouches are breathable canvas made from organic cotton so you may keep them in their pouches closed.


End of Life
Bamboo straws are meant to last a year and more, but it all depends on the usage of the owner. You will be glad to know that even if you happen to shorten the lifespan of your bamboo straw, they can easily be disposed properly, and you can just get another bamboo straw without adding weight to your conscience. These bamboo straws are sustainable and compostable. Established bamboo can grow around the same time a bamboo straw can decompose. Once you decide that you have used and abused your bamboo straw, place your straw in a compost or a compost bin for its natural process of decomposition.
You could be wondering if all these are necessary. You could be saying that buying and taking care of your bamboo straw will not make a difference in the world. You could be saying ain’t nobody got time for that. However, practicing these care instructions for your bamboo straws will help everyone. These will instill a discipline and compassion on your everyday life. These things matter because it is time to cut back on the plastics. Starting with a simple straw, you will realize that small things make a huge difference.

Secure your very own Five-Star Bamboo Drinking Straws here or clicking the picture below: 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Scores Five-Stars on Average

For ???????? Customers, these straws are available on Amazon Prime: https://amzn.to/2EIFdxV.

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With love and compassion, 
Team Karunaki
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A Brief History of Plastic Straws

You may have already heard that plastic straws are bad for the environment, but if you are wondering why and how, keep reading to find out.

Sumerians were first known to use straws for drinking beer to avoid sediments from the fermentation of beer. Rye grass straws became popular in the 1800s because it was cheap, but it was not durable. In 1888, a particular Marvin C. Stone patented the paper straw. He started by wrapping paper around a pencil to make a thin hollow tube, and then glued the ends of the paper together. Later on, he built a machine that could coat paper straws with wax so that they would not dissolve easily in liquids. In the 1900s when polio and tuberculosis were rampant, straws became more widespread for hygienic reasons. Finally, in the 1960s when plastic technology advanced, plastic straws dominated the world – cheap, lightweight, convenient, supposedly biodegradable plastic straws.
Photo by Helen Lockhart | Two Oceans Aquarium
Plastic straws of today are made from polypropylene. This material is sourced from refined petroleum; molecules of propylene gas are strung together to form a solid plastic material. This kind of plastic is lightweight, durable, food-safe, and thermoplastic. This means that it can be melted to form various shapes, and then it can be melted again to form new shapes. So, is it recyclable then? Yes, polypropylene is recyclable, but most plastic straws cannot be recycled. Recycling centers have machines that sort recyclables by size. Plastic straws, as well as plastic bottle caps, slip through the sorter, and end up going to landfill where they remain forever, or the ocean where they may end up floating for centuries or dissolved into microplastic in The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Imagine using a plastic straw maybe once a week. Even if only a quarter of the population of the world uses plastic straws, that is 2 billion discarded plastic straws in one week. One straw may not seem that dangerous, but it is exponential in damage. Now, we could wait for a revolutionary recycling center or a machine that could degrade polypropylene quickly, but what we can do right now is to stop using plastic straws. There are many alternatives to plastic straws.

Paper straws are better than plastic straws, but they are still single-use, and they are still made from trees. Glass straws are a pretty addition to your drink, and are infinitely recyclable. They can last years if taken care of properly. Hay straws or straw straws are straws made from the stem of wheat. They are very cheap, single-use but compostable, and sustainable. All of these are great alternatives, but bamboo straws would be the top pick. Bamboo is the fastest growing plant, is organic and compostable, and needs no irrigation, pesticide, or fertilizer – definitely sustainable. Bamboo straws are all-natural, durable, not to mention beautiful, and inherently antibacterial. A point to remember would be these three C’s: Compassion and Consciousness over Convenience. A plastic straw may be available at the snap of your hand, but alternative straws – which may take some effort to acquire, clean, and carry around – will be of great help rather than a nuisance. Plastic straws exponentially damage the environment, like bamboo straws (and other alternatives) can change the world. The little things matter, and they start with you. Get your bamboo straws here.
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Team Karunaki
Categories
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Why You Should Use Bamboo Straws (After Saying No To Plastic Straws)

There have been debates to the necessity of using straws for our drinks, but one thing everyone can agree on is that plastic straws are an abomination to the planet. (If you do not agree on that, please take the time to watch this plastic straw being pulled out from a sea turtle’s nostril.) These fun, colorful, weightless, readily available plastic drinking straws have a 30-minute lifespan with a lifetime impact on the environment. A simple conscious effort of saying no when presented with plastic straws, or even before they are offered, make a world of difference. Why not pluck out a bamboo straw from your bag, and imagine the sun, sand, and sea as you put the bamboo straw to your lips?

Image source

If you are a fan of drinking straws (because why not? To each his own), or not really concerned with them, here are a few benefits you could find useful when using bamboo straws with your favorite drink:

Image source

  1. Bamboo straws are completely natural, biodegradable and compostable, and plastic-free. Bamboo is the fastest growing plant in the world. They rarely need to be irrigated; pesticides and fertilizers are not needed because bamboo has antibacterial traits. So aside from reducing your own carbon footprint, the support and profit you could give to the Filipino farmers who plant and create these bamboo straws will go a long way. Win-win!  Bamboo straws are available at our store, get yours today! 

  2. Save yourself a trip from the dentist! Now, this actually is an exaggeration, but in general, straws could actually help with your dental health. Not to mention all the potential germs you have avoided from direct contact with publicly used glasses, drinking through a straw will lessen the contact between your teeth and your drink. Diverting dark-colored or extra sugary liquids away from your teeth and straight into your throat could lessen the risk for teeth stains, enamel erosion, and cavities. One tip to remember: Drink water after consuming any of your favorite colorful flavored liquids, be it an uplifting green smoothie or an emboldening glass of red wine. Another pro-tip: If you want whiter teeth without the pain and chemicals of bleaching, try our activated charcoal teeth whitening products.

  3. Help your child be more articulate. Speech pathologist Debra C. Lowsky wrote that drinking from straws is an efficient way to improve anyone’s oral motor skills.[1] It prevents children from forming habits of open-mouth breathing and lisping. To top it all off, Ms. Lowsky noted that sucking could also be used as a form of therapy.

  4. Let’s face it. Straws are so convenient – for on the go people, for disabled people, for children. We do not have to ban all straws, just single-use plastic straws. Some may consider that regular use of straws contribute to “smoker’s lips,” wrinkles that form on your upper lips, but many factors are responsible for that too: sun damage, dehydration, nicotine, genes, and what do you know, age! Smile lines won’t stop you from smiling or laughing, would it…?

In the end, it is just a matter of preference – a preference embedded with a consciousness and compassion of your surroundings. One plastic straw could be the pain of a sea turtle. One bamboo straw could mean a hundred less plastic straws in the ocean. The littlest things make a big difference, and you can start with a bamboo straw.

 

1. C. Lowsky – https://www.arktherapeutic.com/blog/the-oral-motor-benefits-of-straws

 

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With love and compassion,

Team Karunaki