Super Eco

Photo credit: bowena, flickr

Here's an eco-friendly idea that doesn't suck: stainless steel and glass drinking straws. "Cute, but dumb," we thought when we first heard about these. "Novelty item, or something so pricey and such a pain to get that nobody but the eco-obsessed is ever going to get on board ..." Think again! The Smart Mama discovered 99-cent stainless steels straws this weekend at (get this!) 7-11 convenience stores. That's right: For slurpees, 7-11's Transformer promotion features wide, stainless steel Slurpee straws for $0.99 (no Transformer logos; the only thing that will be transformed is your sustainability).

Why on earth would you want to use a stainless steel straw, you ask?

• No plastic waste Think about how many fast food restaurants pop a plastic straw into your drink or bag every single day. What if you kept a small stash of clean stainless straws right there in your car?
• No leaching of chemicals Stainless steel is completely inactive, neither absorbing nor leaching chemicals into your beverage—no BPA, no other nastiness.
• Reuseable time after time Pop your stainless steel straws into the dishwasher, then slip a few clean ones in your glove compartment and desk drawer. How easy is that?

If you don't have a 7-11 near you, you can also find stainless steel straws online (less than $10 for a set of four) at Amazon and Real Green Goods.

And if stainless steel is not fancy enough for you, try glass straws. We wouldn't want to give these to the kids for their green smoothies, but they offer the same eco-advantages as stainless steel. Yes, they're more delicate than stainless, but they're also undeniably elegant. Check out GlassDharma's selection of styles; they even offer a repair/replacement option (so glass straws are not as fragile as you might think).