Is sustainability really not cheaper?
Luxury label Dior has just launched a range of exclusive reusable straws designed to reduce plastic consumption. They are gold and cost a fortune.
Bringing sustainable products onto the market is currently high on the agenda, especially for fashion brands. The problem: whether Zara, H&M or Prada - they are all misleading the public with their sustainability efforts. They only formulate their environmental initiatives vaguely, don't think about the consequences of the alternatives or make their sustainable products inaccessible to the masses.
The luxury goods manufacturer Dior has just launched reusable straws that cost £120 (approx. 142 francs). They are hand-painted, gold-coloured and mouth-blown. Their design is beautiful, but expensive. The price makes us sceptical as to whether this alternative really serves the purpose. How can such an exclusive product help to promote the use of zero-waste drinking straws?
Other zero-waste straws are already unpopular
Dior's luxury accessory fits in with the luxury problem that is emerging internationally when it comes to drinking straws. Earlier this week, media outlets such as The Sun announced that the new paper straws from fast food chain McDonald's are difficult to recycle. They are too thick. They also become soggy in drinks during use.
Paper straws have been so badly received by consumers since their introduction in 2018 that a petition has been launched. It calls on McDonald's to bring back their old straws. Over 50,000 signatures have already been collected under the campaign slogan: "So I can drink my milkshake properly". There are certainly people with disabilities who are dependent on drinking with straws. Everyone else who can't do without it because of a milkshake has a problem that doesn't have to be one.
It could be so simple
On the one hand, the fact that our lips alone have been doing the job for millions of years proves how cheaply plastic straws could be replaced. On the other hand, there are very simple, waste-free alternatives for anyone with a straw fetish: The experimental restaurateurs at the "Artishow" bar in Lausanne, for example, serve their drinks using pasta as straws. With their simple idea, they are putting the big companies like Dior and McDonald's in their place. They have found an accessible alternative and have thought not only in the short term, but also in the long term. After all, the pasta can be enjoyed cooked afterwards.😉
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Like a cheerleader, I love celebrating good design and bringing you closer to everything furniture- and interior design- related. I regularly curate simple yet sophisticated interior ideas, report on trends and interview creative minds about their work.