Assignment 4A- Reusable Straw Portability

Something I am very passionate about is the Environment and creating easier ways for everyday people to live more sustainable lifestyles. One easy way people can live a more sustainable lifestyle is by eliminating the amount of plastic waste they create daily, more specifically eliminating things from their daily lives like single-use plastic straws. Each day Americans alone use over 500 million plastic straws, which is just enough to circle the Earth completely over two and a half times (get-green-now.com). These straws sit in landfills, floating in our oceans, and are ingested by animals daily because it takes over two hundred years for a straw to decompose. Think about how many times you use a straw daily, at any restaurant, any bar, when you go get an iced coffee, etc. This is why so many straws are in landfills and oceans today due to our sheer resilience on them. The latest wave of people caring about the environment has sparked the larger use of reusable and decomposable straws, however carrying these around is inconvenient therefore a lot of people chose not to. This is why I believe the opportunity exists to create a new product such as a case or something that has a compartment to store a stainless steel straw allowing the user to be carrying the straw around constantly. Currently, companies such as Finalstraw are creating collapsible straws that stay on your keychain, however many people, myself included, are not always carrying around a set of keys, therefore, making this product limited. Whereas creating a compartment in something like a phone case allows the majority of costumes to buy the product because most of society nowadays have their own personal cell phone. A lot of people have been choosing to just not use straws in their everyday lives, however, a lot of people enjoy drinking out of a straw especially in public places where hundreds of people have already used the same cup as you. This is why I am about 85% sure this opportunity exists.

            My ideal candidate is someone between the ages of 16 and 30 who is somewhat environmentally conscious or someone who lives in an area that is. For example, if you grow up in a country such as France who has banned the use of plastic bags, plates, and cutlery you are more willing to buy a product that supports the same values.

            Interview #1- Early-twenties male who is studying Sustainability Studies

·      Have you ever used a straw and where have you used it?

o   “Well yeah who hasn’t used a straw. Normally at places when I go out to eat or at the bar, but I try to avoid using them as much as possible.” Why? “Well I hate plastic that you use and just throw away but that’s just the Sustainability part of me coming out.”

·      When you do use a straw do you ever think about what happens to it right after? *He had already somewhat answered this question in the response above, but to keep all research singular I asked again*

o   “Yeah but I try not to too much just because it is a little sad.” Why do you think it is sad? “Mostly because whenever I think about it I picture the turtles with the straws in their noses.”

·      Did you know that Americans alone use enough plastic straws a day to wrap the entire world over two and a half times?

o   “No, I had no idea it was that severe, I knew it was a ton but that seems ridiculous.”

·      Did you also know that plastic straws take over two hundred years to decompose?

o   “Actually yes I knew the sort of gist that it took that long.”

·      After knowing all of these facts, would you be more willing to using a ceramic or metal reusable or even a paper decomposable straw?

o   “Yeah absolutely, I try every day to do the little things you know like turning off the water when I brush my teeth and keeping the lights off, but I think I would for sure look into it.”

·      Would you be willing to use a product that held your reusable straw in your phone case or a similar style case, instead of having to carry them around in your pocket?

o   “That’s a good point I didn’t think about because I don’t carry a purse or anything so I would need something. My only hold-up with the phone is how would it stay clean? My phone goes everywhere with me for good or bad.” Well, the straw would have a lid on it so it would basically sink into your case so you wouldn’t see it. “Oh yeah as long as you can guarantee it would be clean sounds cool.”

REFLECTION- While interviewing this person I realized that they would be my ideal customer. They would be my prototypical customer because they are environmentally conscious, and would be willing to use the product. Throughout my time as an Environmental Science major, I have learned firsthand how hard it can be to convince someone to care about the environment because most of the time you do not see its effects. Therefore, an issue I could run into while selling this product would be that people would either need to recognize the importance of getting rid of single-use plastics or see that this is something their friends are doing and then realize it is important. Customers of this product are not going to be people who do not have any interest in the environment or people who care a little bit but not enough to change their current way of life.

            Interview #2- Late forties female who works as a Human Resources Manager

·      Have you ever used a straw and where have you used it?

o   “I have been using straws my whole life, at the bar they give you the little, black ones and every time I go out to eat.”

·      When you do use a straw do you ever think about what happens to it right after?

o   “No, honestly I just know it goes into the trash can and then somewhere else far away. Once I do not see the straw I do not focus on what happens after.” Well, do you have any sort of guess where it goes? “To the dump? Or the landfill, I am assuming.”

·      Did you know that Americans alone use enough plastic straws a day to wrap the entire world over two and a half times?

o   “No, but wow. That is a lot of straws being used a day.” Think about what our first question was and how many straws you could use in a day. If the bar gives you two little black ones with each drink they add up. “They are so small though, I don’t even blink an eye about them.”

·      Did you also know that plastic straws take over two hundred years to decompose?

o   “No I had no idea it took so long; does that mean the straws my grandma used to use are still here?” Yeah absolutely. “Wow, that is something.”

·      After knowing all of these facts, would you be more willing to using a ceramic or metal reusable or even a paper decomposable straw?

o   “I did not even know they had those personally.” Yeah, they are all kinda growing in popularity but they have straws you can buy on Amazon or online that you use and then wash and then can reuse forever. “That is neat, but I do not think I am probably going to use them.”

·      Would you be willing to use a product that held your reusable straw in your phone case or in a similar kind of case, instead of having to carry them around in your pocket?

o   “I think that this point I am unlikely to start using them unless you had some with you right now.” *I do in fact have some during this interview so I pull them out* “Oh wow this is fancy, and I just want to wash them?” Yeah just rinse them with dish soap and water.” Would you want a product that could say store them in your phone case? “I actually like my phone case right now a lot with the dogs on it so I probably would not change it.”

REFLECTION- After finishing this interview, I actually gathered a lot more information that I thought I was going to going into it. First, I reinforced my belief that people who are older and grew up in a generation that was missed by an Environmental wave are likely less to feel the responsibility to change. Second, I had not even thought about the fact that a lot of people share their personality through their phone case, therefore, the phone case with the straw would need to have an assortment of styles to please a wider audience. Lastly, I had to take a step back and recognize that just because I know all about reusable straws it is still not a household item, therefore, would take some time to continue to build a brand.

Interview #3- Mid-twenties female who works as a Dental Assistant.

·      Have you ever used a straw and where have you used it?

o   “All the time, at restaurants, when I go out after work, in my Houston Texans Tumbler, basically every day.”

·      When you do use a straw do you ever think about what happens to it right after?

o   “No, I cannot say that I do really think about it, assuming it just goes into the trash and then gone from sight.”

·      Did you know that Americans alone use enough plastic straws a day to wrap the entire world over two and a half times?

o   “Wow that is absurd, I had no idea honestly. I knew that Americans consumed a lot of everything but straws of all things.” Well yeah, think about how many times a day you use a straw and then multiply that by 125 million or so people. “Dang I had no idea.”

·      Did you also know that plastic straws take over two hundred years to decompose?

o   “No, I could not tell you how long it takes anything to decompose.”

·      After knowing all of these facts, would you be more willing to using a ceramic or metal reusable or even a paper decomposable straw?

o   “Well here is the problem I have with metal straws is the damage it can do to teeth. We have a lot of patients that come in with cracked or chipped teeth due to how hard they bit down or chew on them. I think a soft-paper one could be nice, however.”

·      Would you be willing to use a product that held your reusable straw in your phone case or in a similar kind of case instead of having to carry them around in your pocket?

o   “I actually just got an Amazon Prime account so if you could show me what kind of paper ones you recommend I would be for sure willing to try them.” *Opens phone and orders them on site* “Perfect I am kinda excited to see how it goes.”

REFLECTION- Interviewing this person was very helpful in a couple of ways especially with realizing that metal straws are not a perfect solution but just a beginning. When thinking of who I wanted to interview I wanted to make sure to get her because I wanted to know if dentists actually have any recommendations just because straws interact with teeth so much. I know that I personally chew on straws but have stopped ever since I started using my stainless steel one. But this interview was important for me to realize that a metal straw isn’t a perfect solution to this growing problem, that perhaps my phone case could include a washable plastic straws option for younger children or adults with anxiety issues who also chew on straws as a sort of tick.

Summary- After interviewing the three people and researching a lot of different opinions, I have come to the conclusion that the opportunity is still there and is actually growing. As this century moves on we see more and more people doing little things and tweaking parts of their everyday lives in order to live more sustainability. While I do not think we are going to see another major environmental wave in the upcoming years like we saw when the Ohio River actually caught on fire, I do see this as a growing trend. A lot of people are looking for ways to not only start using reusable straws but also looking for a way a sanitary and stylish way to do so. I think the phone-case holder is a wonderful idea, and I think about interviewing more people that the product idea has only gotten better. Listening to the wants and needs of your customers is vital to grow a business, therefore adding more personalized cases to our assortment and allowing customers to pick between a metal or reusable plastic is huge. If a business was unwilling to change or mold in order to allow for growth it flat-lines. I think that there is a line between changing your entire brand and values, and just changing tiny details to appease your audience. The demand for people to live sustainable is not going to end, even if the world becomes a perfect and unpolluted place the fight to keep it that way will not end. I believe that is opportunity is for sure up for the taking and I would back it 100%.