our story

Oh hey, welcome — so happy you’re here.

We’re Jamie-Lee and Lennart, the couple behind theotherstraw.

With 8 million tons of plastic being dumped into our oceans every year, our marine life is swallowing more plastic than ever before.

Our journey started in 2018. We were fed up with the amount of plastic straws polluting our local beaches.

Plastic straws are one of the most picked up items during beach cleanups. They take hundreds, sometimes thousands of years to actually break down. 

So, we decided to do something about it and theotherstraw was born.

theotherstraw serves as a symbol to everything people can do in their everyday life to live a less wasteful lifestyle.

Since launching late 2018, we've kept over 43 million plastic straws from entering our oceans and landfills. We offer wholesale bamboo straws and partnered with some of Australia's biggest brands, hotel chains and festivals to help them go plastic-free.

To further our impact, we expanded our bamboo range in 2019. We introduced other ethical, reusable items to help people live more sustainably.  

our mission

our vision

our planet goes first, always 

We never compromise and we don't take shortcuts.

Our planet is at the top of our agenda. We use plants to make our products, we send zero waste to landfill and have achieved carbon neutrality. You know, like how all things should be. 

we're carbon neutral  

We're a 100% carbon neutral business and all of our carbon is cancelled — from raw materials to the delivery to your doorstep. We've partnered with Carbon Neutral Australia, and with them, we are restoring forests and regenerating empty lands across Australia. 

Being carbon-neutral is a great start, but there is more that needs to be done. We've realised that reducing our emissions to zero is not enough. For this reason, we are committed to being climate positive by 2025.

why bamboo

○Bamboo is the fastest growing plant in the world, in the right conditions bamboo can grow up to 1 meter in a single day.

○Bamboo absorbs greenhouse gases.

○Bamboo can help stop global warming. It absorbs carbon dioxide and releases up to 35% more oxygen than trees.

○Nearly zero waste! After our bamboo is harvested, nearly every part of the bamboo plant is used to create some sort of sustainable production. From enriching mulch to furniture to straws, bamboo is one of the most utilised plants in the world.

○Bamboo is grown organically. Unlike other crops, bamboo requires no fertilisers, pesticides, herbicides or other chemicals to help it grow.

○Bamboo can help stop deforestation. Nearly 1 million acres of forest are destroyed each week around the world to deforestation. Bamboo is a great substitute for timber and has the potential to protect millions of trees around the world.