Glass Dharma's 1000 FREE Glass Straws for Earth Day

It's only been a year since I started sipping my drinks again.  You see, I went several years saying "no thank you" to disposable plastic straws.  After finding so many littered on the beach, I just can't force myself to use them.  I still refuse plastic straws, but thanks to Glass Dharma reaching out to me last Earth Day, I have grown very fond of glass straws. :)

Some people say that Christmas is the season for giving, but if you know Glass Dharma... their season for giving is happening right now!  Each year for the past 4 years, Glass Dharma marks Earth Day by giving away FREE (yup, I said it: FREE) glass straws!!  AND... this year they want to go BIG!  Glass Dharma wants to give away 1000 FREE glass straws!!

It's super easy to participate!  Glass Dharma is asking YOU to share why you love glass straws OR why you would love a glass straw!  I'm super stoked that Glass Dharma has asked me to take an active role in helping them give away 1000 glass straws that I had to make a submission of my own to share!



Yup, I love sipping my drinks... slurping up the end of my smoothies... and taking my kids to get fun things like root beer floats.... all while encouraging others to kick their plastic straw habit.  :)

How about you?  What do you LOVE (or what would you love) about glass straws??

To participate in the 1000 FREE Glass Straws for Earth Day, be sure to follow all of the directions below! If you have questions, let me know!

Entrants - please include:
1. 100 to 200 word essay in an attached document (or) a link to a 1 to 3 minute YouTube Video
2. Your name, email address and mailing address. (In the body of your email)
3. Email your request for a free glass straw to: EarthDay@GlassDharma.com 
4. One entry per person (If multiple people are using the same email address, please note in the body of the email.)

Glass Straws and how they relate to a better world is the suggested inspiration point of submissions for this contest. Content ideas might include: Beauty, Joy, Taste & Planet Care (Environmental). Creativity is encouraged as you write or shoot your video!

Video and Essay submission instructions – simply include the link to your “YouTube Video” or attach your essay to your email (Word format (.doc) or basic text (.txt) format please)  

Electronic (email) submissions are preferred to snail mail as an optimum eco-choice. All entries must be received by Earth Day, April 22. We will begin shipping the straws after April 1^st and the 2 grand prize winners will be posted (and contacted) by May 5^th.

The first 1000 essay/video contest entries received by the Earth Day deadline will receive a free Glass Straw from GlassDharma!Please note that GlassDharma will pay shipping charges for each free glass straw up to $3.00 (free shipping for USA deliveries)

A judging panel consisting of three passionate Environmental Bloggers and three members of the GlassDharma staff is ready to select 10 finalists, five for the video category, and five for the essay category.  One Grand Prize Winner for each category will be selected by popular vote amongst the judges. Grand Prize Winners will receive a $100.00 electronic GlassDharma Gift Code by email.

Music in video by Joel P. West.

More blogposts about the 1000 Free Glass Straws:

Good Girl Gone Green: No Straw, Please

Our Daily Ocean: Day 111

Ever since we moved to Wilmington, it has been a sort of tradition to go to the beach at Christmas.  True, it all started as a way to brag to our family and friends in the midwest, but now we find it's sort of a way to brag to ourselves about how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful place and how much we love it here.

There is something so amazing about spending Christmas at the beach.  AND... since I'm not much for cold weather... this was one of the best Christmases ever!  This girl doesn't need snow...   Running around and playing on the beach barefoot is my kind of Christmas!! :)

Of course, we did more than play at the beach.  Christmas is about giving... so my kids and I gave Wrightsville Beach the gift of a 20 minute beach clean up!

At first, the beach didn't look too bad.  Some littered cigarette butts along the tideline, but overall not much... UNTIL... at about 5 minutes into the clean up I decided to go up to the beach grasses... then I found a huge area packed full of caps, straws, styrofoam, various plastics, and cigarette butts.  As I was picking up all the litter, I heard a rustling in the grasses... and then saw a rabbit dart away from where I was. :)  In that same area, I found a couple of tubes of Chapstick which immediately made me think about the plastic-free Organic Essence lip balm that I recently purchased through the recommendation of a friend.  Besides being plastic-free (the tube is paper and compostable!!), it's also petroleum-free... and I dig that :)

I also dig it because I'm a believer in the fact that change has to start somewhere.

20 minutes on December 25, 2011 at Access 38

Litter by weight: 14.3 oz
Cigarette butts: 588

Total amount of cigarette butts removed from Wrightsville Beach in 111 days:

37,638

Sippin' (the Plastic-Free Way)

"Here can you hold this for me?" I said, while handing my daughter my glass straw.  Then as I started to fill my bulk containers, I heard: Ping ping ping  It was the sound of my glass straw hitting the concrete floor (at Tidal Creek).  I cringed thinking the worst.  Ok, I wasn't panicking or anything...Glass Dharma has a lifetime guarantee... so no need to fret... but still I cringed just the same. Then as I leaned over to pick it up... I noticed that it was perfect... absolutely perfect.  No cracks, no chips... no nothing.  :)

If you've been following along, I have been saying "no thank you" to plastic straws for quite some time now... and it's been almost a year since I committed 100% to not accepting plastic straws (no ifs ands or buts)-- even in my smoothies.  Yup, from August to May I had at least one smoothie a week and not one of them was drank with a straw.  That is until I participated in the Glass Dharma Earth Day Letter Writing Initiative... and got me some glass straws.  When I first got my glass straws, I was super excited... my kids and I popped them into our waters and fun ensued.  Seriously, it had been so long since we drank from straws that we forgot how much fun it was to sip, sip, sip....

Now I'd like to tell you that I take our straws with us everywhere and use them all the time, but to be honest.... I'm really really bad at remembering to take them when we go out to eat....UNLESS, of course, I'm getting a smoothie.

Admission:  I have an addiction to smoothies.  Seriously. I sip and slurp up A LOT of smoothies with my glass straws!  

Just to let you in on my addiction.  For the past year, I've been going to yoga every Friday.  And every Friday after yoga, I get a smoothie at Tidal Creek.  I've now upped my yoga to 3 times a week... and you guessed it... that means more smoothies!!  Sometimes they're chocolate, sometimes they're fruity... but boy oh boy are they always super yummy!! :)  Of course, I used to go without a straw.... I was cool with going without....really I was... yes, even with a green smoothie mustache and a line across my nose.... I was fine.  But... you know what????!!!  Smoothies are SO much better with a straw.  A million times better!!  No doubt the smoothie tastes good no matter what... but it's honestly more pleasurable to drink using a straw.


....Says the girl who always says, "I don't need a straw." ;)


Now that I officially have a major thing for glass straws... thanks Glass Dharma!!  I feel this need to share them with everyone.  It's fun to say "glass straw" and see people get very intrigued.  BUT... even better than that is giving them to family and friends! They are definitely my new favorite thing to gift.  When my family came out to visit for my birthday, I ordered a bunch of glass straws and gifted them to my family.  Days after getting home (to Iowa), my aunt made my cousin a thick milkshake...  and sent me his response.  Thumbs up!  His favorite feature was something I hadn't even thought of:  The glass straw doesn't go flat like a plastic straw!  Woot!!

While Bushwalla was staying with us, he came home with a drink with a plastic straw...yikes!... I asked "what's up with the plastic straw??".  ...and then, being the person I am...I couldn't let him go around using plastic straws.  Friends don't let friends use single-use disposable plastics. ;)  Without hesitation, I said, "I have something for you" and gave him one of my glass straws.  He immediately started using it... and a month later is still using it!!!  Most recently during his live and online show at the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf he talked about reducing the amount of plastic he uses and showed off his glass straw!  Yay Yay Yay!!  Go B!!!  (another ripple effect in progress) 

Ok... so it's been 3 months since I got my first glass straw.  I'm super grateful that Glass Dharma asked me to participate in their Earth Day letter writing initiative because thanks to the glass straw I'm back to sipping my drinks... slurping up the end of my smoothies... taking my kids to get fun things like root beer floats... all while still encouraging others to kick their plastic straw habit. :)

Hmmm... it's still early... I think I need to go make me a smoothie... ;)

Our Daily Ocean: Day 59

On Friday, as we walked onto Wrightsville Beach... we, once again, couldn't believe how trashed the beach was.  In every direction, we could see litter strewn across the sand.

And as we walked stepped, grabbed, stepped, grabbed through the aftermath of what could only be described as the leftovers of an all day party.... we kept asking ourselves:  Why?  Why do people just leave their trash on the beach?  Why do they think it's ok??

 

I, recently, read an article about the record number of trash removed from New Jersey beaches.  In 2010, 475,321 pieces of litter were removed from the state's 127-mile shoreline.  45,903 were cigarette filters. So... the question begs to be answered.  "Why????"

In a 2009 study done by Keep America Beautiful, they found that "litter begets litter."  It's a simple fact, that the chances of people littering are much more likely in an already littered environment.  Litter attracts MORE litter.

So... that one wrapper that got away... that one plastic water bottle that got misplaced... that dropped bottle cap.... that one cigarette butt that got flicked.... they're all open invitations for other people to do the same...

Then... once the litter is in place attracting MORE litter.  Something happens.  Suddenly, people believe it's not their responsibility to pick it up.  Someone else will pick it up.  Who?  Maybe they think someone is paid to pick up after them?  Maybe the litterbugs at Wrightsville Beach need to meet my three children.  Maybe they need to meet the volunteers of the Wrightsville Beach Sea Turtle Project.  Maybe they need to meet the members of Surfrider... and the other countless volunteers that spend their time picking up the trash left behind by other people.

Maybe it's time to walk Wrightsville Beach with photos of what 20 minutes of picking up litter on Wrightsville Beach looks like??  Maybe then... people will begin to understand that one simple thing adds up to more... and the more keeps growing.  Of course, that simple thing can be negative (littering) or positive (not littering/picking it up).  What are YOU growing??

20 minutes on April 29, 2010 at Access 29

Litter by weight: 5 lbs 8.6 oz 
Cigarette butts: 279

A "fish" swimming in a sea of 279 cigarette butts.  "Save Fish.  Feed The Bait Tank butts."

Total amount of cigarette butts removed from Wrightsville Beach, NC in 59 days: 

16,906

Write a Letter... Get a Free Glass Straw!!!

Every time I do a 20 minute beach clean up... it's (unfortunately) guaranteed that we're going to find littered straws.  Some days we find so many that I count the straws before I count cigarette butts....On Day 11, we picked up 26 straws in 20 minutes.... and on Day 52, we removed 21 straws in 20 minutes.  :(  

Starting on Day 55, I have begun tallying the number of straws we find during our 20 minute clean ups.  So far the two day tally is at 18.

Before we started doing the 20 minute clean ups... my husband and I were pretty good about REFUSING straws (yes, we even ditched lids on drinks in order to not use a straw).... but after picking up SO many at Wrightsville Beach (and other places around town).... it became obvious to us that we needed to ALWAYS refuse them.... saying "No Thank You" to a straw in our drinks has become second nature to us (yes, even our 3 young children refuse straws!!).  

After doing our 4th 20 minute clean up back in September, it became clear to us that a lot of the litter... including the majority of straws we find at access 36 find their way to the beach from the restaurant's dining pier.  I made the decision to contact the restaurant to make them aware of what we were finding AND to offer suggestions to the problem.  

I shared my letter here.... and encouraged everyone to write a letter to a restaurant.  NOW... I want to encourage you to participate in this GlassDharma restaurant letter writing initiative!! GlassDharma is motivated to make a difference and they are willing to put FREE glass straws where your lips are!

You read right... FREE glass straws!!

All you have to do is write a letter to a restaurant, suggesting ways they might reduce single use plastic straw trash and GlassDharma will send you a FREE glass straw!!  YAY!!!  

Ok... I'm super excited about this because I can't remember the last time I used a straw AND their straws are "kid-friendly"!!  Of course, I will be writing some letters!!  Some suggestions for how restaurants could reduce the use of single use straws are to: Ask customers if they want a straw, instead of automatically giving them one;  Make the switch to paper or reusable straws; and to recommend the restaurant offer GlassDharma drinking straws as an upgrade to their menu. (<--- how cool would that be?!?)

OK... so are you ready?!?  Here are the deets:

1. Write and send a snail mail* letter  to a restaurant -- (up to 5 different restaurants for up to 5 free straws!!)  *NO emails
2. Copy your letter, please include full contact information of the restaurant, into a comment on this blogpost :)
3. Send an email to earthday@glassdharma.com with a copy of your letter, including contact info of the restaurant AND your personal contact info so that a free GlassDharma Glass Straw can be mailed to you.  **Contact information for entrants and restaurants must include, name, mailing address and email address.  Please note: Participants from the US and Canada are only eligible to participate in this contest.

For writing the letter... or hopefully letters!!...and including all of the required contact information, a GlassDharma Simple Elegance Glass Straw (SE9.5NA8) will be mailed to you directly from the GlassDharma manufacturing facility in Fort Bragg, CA!! Yes, each participant gets a free glass straw!  One free straw per entry (multiple entries, up to 5, must include a different restaurant for each entry). 

GlassDharma will award one Grand Prize Winner a $100.00 gift certificate coupon code.  Entries received through 4/30/2011 and all straws will be shipped May 2- 4.  The Grand prize drawing to be held on 5/4/2011.

OK... So are you ready to make a difference?!?  I am... and I know just the 5 restaurants I'll be writing :) 


Here's one:
Oceanic

703 S. Lumina Ave
Wrightsville Beach, NC 28480

 Dear Oceanic:

As a long-time customer, I not only appreciate your food but also the fact that you all use reusable dishes, real flatware, and glasses. I know that when we eat at Oceanic, we’ll have a waste-free meal, that is, as long as we ask for no straws. As a family that participates in regular beach clean ups, we have found that straws are one of the most littered items on our beach (and worldwide). Knowing that so many straws are littered, our family of five makes a conscious effort to not use plastic straws.


In honor of Earth Month, I am writing to ask you to change your plastic straw policy.

1. Why not train your servers to ask customers if they want a straw instead of automatically giving them one? Some people don’t like straws and will appreciate being asked. All others will get a chance to stop and think about whether they actually need this disposable plastic item in the first place.

2. Doing beach clean ups we find a good majority of plastic straws that have flown from the Oceanic dining pier. I would love it if you’d switch to paper straws for those customers who request one. Yes, they are still disposable, but at least they are compostable and will not last in the environment, potentially harming wildlife. One company that offers paper straws is Aardvark (www.aardvarkstraws.com).

3. Please consider participating in an upgrade program, offering customers the opportunity to pay extra for their meal and receive a reusable straw to carry with them. There is a US company called Glass Dharma. On their website they describe the Menu Upgrade program for restaurants, which I think is a great idea. (http://glassdharma.blogspot.com/2010/11/whats-on-menu.html)

I would greatly appreciate it if you would please let me know which steps you are willing to take. Besides the amazing selection of seafood, Oceanic is the only restaurant in Wrightsville Beach that overlooks the breathtaking views of the beach and Atlantic Ocean; I’d love for Oceanic to take steps to help preserve that beauty.

Sincerely,

Danielle Richardet
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