By Lisa Imerman, J.D.
As our e-newsletter and our organization gains popularity in the public we have been given some opportunities to review not only books but products. To be honest and most forthright about this, I want to be clear that my review is exactly what I thought about the product rather good or bad. I was sent free samples to try of the following products, but was not otherwise paid or have any ties to the manufacturers of these products. I decided that reviewing these products is not a bad thing for our newsletter, as I know that for myself personally I am always interested in learning about things or products that might help me on my mission to be as eco-friendly and healthy as possible with my family and with our planet. I will review those products that come to my attention that I feel are very fitting in a Nourishing diet and lifestyle or have a positive impact on the health of our planet (or both, which is usually the case!!).
Glass Straws by Glass Dharma www.glassdharma.com
I discovered these straws via a post on one of the Nourishing Blogs I like to read. I thought they were an awesome idea as I hate plastic straws but had not located a good replacement for my family. We make Kefir smoothies quite often and so my husband had resorted to washing out plastic straws to re-use, but I also was not happy with that solution because they don’t really hold up and I still feel it is hard to get them clean when you can’t really see inside them. Plus, in the end you still have to throw them out into the landfill which is not good for the environment!!
These straws are awesome in my opinion!! At first I was a bit concerned about how they would feel in the mouth, but it is something you quickly get used to. They look gorgeous too as crystal clear glass is so pretty, they just make you feel better about whatever you are drinking. They come in different lengths and diameters, as well as different styles. I was sent a selection of 4 straws. The straws I tested were the 9.5 mm blue dot straw, the 12mm red dot straw, the 9.5 mm simple elegance straw and the 12mm beautiful bend straw. I also received a cleaning brush for the 2 different diameters of straws.
I think my favorite straw was the 9.5 mm blue dot straw. Of course, I recently dropped it on the floor and broke it into many pieces. More on that issue later, but the reason I love the dot straws is they are beautiful with the colorful dots of glass fused to them, but the dots also serve a purpose in that they keep the straws from rolling when you set them down. This is good for my kids, as if they take the straw out of their drink and set it on the table, it won’t tend to just roll right onto the floor. It also helps us to know who is using a particular straw as we can assign a color to each person and no mix ups of drinks. I plan to order a set of 6 of these straws very soon!! I liked the smaller diameter just for the mouth feel, it felt more like a regular straw would in my mouth!!
The larger diameter straw was great too, but I found that it just felt a bit too large between my lips/teeth when taking a drink!! However, my husband liked it because it was easier to drink a thick smoothie with the larger diameter, so I can see the use of having sets of various styles/sizes. Eventually I will have to enlarge my collection to include both sizes and several styles!!
The Simple Elegance straw was beautiful in its simplicity. I could see having these all in a nice glass jar or vase or tall glass in a cabinet by a bar and using them to serve drinks at a party. Gorgeous, however, since I have young children I think I prefer the non-rolling decorative dots line of straws.
The last straw is the beautiful bend straw. It has a slight bent angle to it which makes it very easy to take a drink from a glass, it sort of “reaches” to your mouth!! I do like this design very much but probably would prefer it in the smaller diameter since I am petite and have kids, I felt the larger straw was not as comfortable. I definitely want some of the beautiful bend straws in my house!!
The straws were very easy to clean with the provided brushes and are dishwasher safe too. I did use the brush to clean out any drink residue and then ran them through the dishwasher to sanitize them!! They do come with a satisfaction guarantee so if you order the larger diameter for smoothies and find you aren’t happy with it or some other issue you might have with your order, they will take it back and replace it or refund your money (minus shipping). They also have a guaranteed replacement for any breakage!! I recently dropped my blue dot straw on the floor in the kitchen while trying to put it away in the cupboard. I have emailed the company to see about replacement and received a response within a day. Since it shattered part of the straw into several fragments on my ceramic tile floor, they told me to simply take a picture of the broken straw and email it to them rather than ship the broken straw back. They will replace it when they get the picture of the broken straw. That is very good customer service in my opinion. The fact that they will replace it for any breakage really takes the sting out of the main issue with glass which is breakage. I am so happy to find a healthy solution for a straw!! The price is obviously higher than the cost for plastic straws, but these will last a lifetime and so in the long run I believe them to be cheaper and certainly so on their environmental impact. You can visit their website at www.glassdharma.com and see pictures of the straws and other information on them.
