Straws make drinking bit more fun especially when it comes to smoothies, milkshakes or juices, we cannot imagine our self having to sip the drink without a straw. Dentists all around the world recommend using straws to minimise tooth decay and staining. By using straws while having sugary drinks minimises direct contact of sugar with teeth.

When it comes to your teeth, straw is your friend but when it comes to the health of our oceans, our planet and our own health we should think twice before using a every single straw. The plastic straws we use to drink our beverages are not made from good quality plastic and tend to have BPA in it which is harmful for our body not only that it also doesn't have any recycle value which is the main reason it ends up in our oceans.

There are plenty of reusable straws available in the market as an alternate to single use plastic straws. If you are looking to buy your first set of environmentally friendly re-usable straws, keep following things in mind before you buy them.

Safe to use

When buying re-usable Stainless Steel straw most people make mistake of buying straws which have sharp edges. Sharp edges when using metal straws can harm your lip or inside of your mouth. Its best to buy straws with round mouth specially when buying a stainless steel straw. For silicone straws it doesn't matter if it has a round mouth or sharp edge mouth as its not sharp enough to cause any damage but for stainless steel straw you need to be a bit more careful when buying one. Currently the best stainless steel straws with round mouth available in the market are from Cheeki.

Material

The first thing to look for when buying a reusable straw is material. Stainless steel straws can be a bit heavier than the glass silicone straws but when it comes to durability and cleanliness , stainless steel straws tops the lot. Glass straws can brake and cause damage not just to you but also to others while being outdoors. Food grade stainless steel straws are odour free and long lasting, all you have to do is clean them in the dishwasher or via a cleaning brush.

BPA Free

BPA stands for bis-phenol A. BPA is an industrial chemical that has been used to make certain plastics and resins since the 1960s. BPA is found in poly-carbonate plastics and epoxy resins. Poly-carbonate plastics are often used in containers that store food and beverages, such as water bottles, tumblers and jars. Exposure to BPA is a concern because of possible health effects of BPA on the brain, behavior and many other health complications. Choosing a BPA free re-usable sip straw will save you from constant BPA exposure when drinking beverages.

Dishwasher Safe

Reusable drinking straws are not particularly challenging to clean, that being said some straws can be very hard to clean depending upon how widen they are or what are they made of. When buying straws make sure they are dishwasher safe and the reason for that is, not all reusable straws come with a cleaning brush and without one they are not easy to clean. The best way to clean a straw is to put them in dishwasher, if you don't own one its highly recommended that you buy the drinking straws with cleaning brush.

Sustainable packaging

You are buying reusable straws to avoid using single use plastic and save ocean animals such as turtles, dolphins etc who mistakenly eat plastic straws, chock on them and die. Some brands such as Cheeki and Ever Eco offer drinking straws with sustainable packaging which means when buying a 2 pack or 4 pack of straws you don't have to worry about more plastic waste.

Recyclable

90% of single use plastic straws isn’t recycled which is just used once and then discarded. When buying reusable straw it’s a good practice to look for recycle sign.