sustainability is our thing.

our journey

We believe that with good business we can do great things for the future — we want to pave the way forward and use our business as a force for good.

We can't wait for the world to change, we need to make it happen ourselves.

We don't sit around waiting for the world's problems to be solved. We're out there tackling them. We get stuff done.

We offset all our CO2 emissions and regenerate empty lands and restoring forests. We're putting our revenue and resources back into our community and giving to grassroots environmental groups.

Sustainability is evolving. And we're constantly learning and improving. We don't have all the answers. But we are always determined to learn, make changes and do better.

It's progress, not perfection.

our 2020 impact report

view here

our highlights

44,596 kg

of plastic waste diverted from landfills from our customers swapping to theotherstraw.

69,964 kg

of CO2 emissions avoided from our customers using theotherstraw, instead of using single-use straws.

465,100

people reached and educated about plastic culture and the importance of sustainable living.

our mission

Our mission is to make the world a more sustainable place. We do this by creating reusable and ethically-made products that help people live a less wasteful lifestyle.

good business

We want to make sure that everything we are doing is working towards building a better, more sustainable future for all. By putting our planet and people first, over profits, we can achieve great things.

our farms

We're committed to providing ethical and socially responsible practices throughout our supply chain.

Our partners and suppliers share our vision to provide ethical transparency and embrace sustainable practices. Scroll down to learn more about our farms and makers behind our straws.

100%

of all employees at our farm in Vietnam are paid a living wage.

50%

of all employees at our farm in Vietnam are from disadvantaged backgrounds or from local minority groups.

regeneration

practices are part of our farming. We're integrating animals and nurturing soil to increase biodiversity.

90%

of all materials used were purchased within 250km of our farm.

water

usage measured, monitored and recycled or reused, when possible.

zero-waste

all leftover bamboo is reused and made into products such as curtains and bamboo mats.

ethical sourcing

ethical trading

There are a lot of amazing people behind our straws. We're responsible to make sure they are safe, healthy and provided with fair working conditions. Our suppliers are committed to continuous improvement and willing to move forward in regards to their ethical and sustainability practices. We have an ethical sourcing policy to hold ourselves a commitment to providing ethical and socially responsible practices within our supply chain. It includes aspects such as giving preference to suppliers that are run by women and indigenous and ethnic minority groups.

code of conduct

This year, we have developed a supplier Code of Conduct. Essentially, we're formalising our ethical and social trading policies and practices to ensure we meet all labour, human rights and workplace health and safety standards. Our Code of Conduct is based on the internationally recognised and accepted good labour practices and abides by the International Labor Organisation (ILO) standards. The ethical points are based on the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) Base Code. Our Code ensures that our makers are paid a living wage, are provided working conditions that are safe and hygienic and are free from discrimination.

we've gone carbon neutral.

carbon is cancelled

Ooh yes we did — we've gone 100% carbon-neutral.

Since day one, all our orders have been shipped out 100% carbon-neutral. But, we realised this wasn’t enough. So, we've cancelled the whole lot.

All the carbon emitted throughout our business has been offset. From our manufacturing to the energy used to light up our office.

We've partnered with Carbon Neutral Australia. They are a carbon solutions provider and reforestation developer. They are providing us with carbon credits to offset our emissions by regenerating empty lands and restoring forests across Australia.

climate positive is on the horizon

Being carbon-neutral is a great start, but there is a lot more work 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.

Essentially, this means our activities would go beyond achieving net-zero carbon emissions.

We want to take further action to catalyse more greenhouse gas reductions and removals than what our business emits.

Yarra Yarra Biodiversity Corridor Project

Through our partnership with Carbon Neutral, we are supporting the Gold Standard Yarra Yarra Biodiversity Corridor Project.

This is a reforestation project that is re-establishing the natural landscape in the northern wheatbelt of Southwest Australia.

Since the launch of the Yarra Yarra Biodiversity Corridor project, 30 million mixed native species of trees and shrubs have been planted across almost 14,000 hectares. The project will provide a CO2 emission reduction of 1,059,000 million tonnes.

Other carbon offset projects we’ve supported to date:

Boobera Native Forest Regeneration (Australia), Regenerating bottomland forests (Lower Mississippi Valley USA), Myamyn Conservation Project, (Australia).

our framework

We want to make sure that we focus all of our efforts on the areas that have the biggest impact.

Our impact framework includes the following areas:

Trade, Community, Culture, Nature and Stories.

These areas are part of a framework that one of our partners, Regeneration Projects, has developed.

our 2025 goals

carbon positive

Currently, we're carbon-neutral. This is a great start, but there is a lot more work that needs to be done. Reducing our emissions to zero is not enough. For this reason, we are committed to being climate positive by 2025. We want to take further action to catalyse more greenhouse gas reductions and removals than what our business emits.

b corp

Certified B Corporations are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. theotherstraw is using business as a force for good, something aligning with the B Corp values and ethos. By 2025, we want to be B Corp certified and to take the lead on environmental and social issues.

full traceability

We want to ensure all makers are environmentally certified, ethical and transparent. We want to improve traceability throughout all the stages of the production chain. In particular, we want to improve the traceability of our tier 2 suppliers - responsible for our raw materials. We want to empower and educate our community with full traceability information and story for the products they purchase from us.

close the loop

To develop a LCA (life cycle assessment) so we are able to identify the hidden sources of waste within our operations and supply chain. This will include collaboration with our suppliers, partners and farms to find solutions and put forward recommendations. We want to embrace circularity and to close the loop - ensuring everything we, or our partner's produces is reused, recycled, repurposed or repaired.

SDGs we’re tackling in the next 5 yrs

our impact

27 tonne

of CO2 offset by regenerating empty lands, restoring forests and planting trees.

35

community events participated in to promote a low impact living and community connectedness.

50%

of theotherstraw's team are women.

100%

of theotherstraw's farms are run by women or groups from underrepresented populations.

370

conversations hosted to overcome eco anxiety and promote mindful and conscious living.

17

sustainability-focused collaborations with brands, banks and universities to promote environmental health.

our first

Supplier Code of Conduct and Ethical Sourcing Policy developed to promote and uphold a diverse, fair and safe supply chain.

60 hours

of volunteering within our community to support mission-aligned causes.

1%

of our annual revenue donated to grassroots environmental groups as part of our 1% for Planet Pledge.

1,000

hectares of land regenerated to provide a diverse, healthy ecosystem — protected from fires and free from pesticides.

zero waste

to landfill. All of products and packaging can be composted and/or recycled.

11

carbon offset projects supported to cancel all the emissions emitted throughout our business.

100%

of all products made from renewable, sustainable resources such as bamboo and coconut.

48,378,560

single-use plastic straws replaced from our customers swapping to our theotherstraw.

half

of all employees and workers at our farm in Vietnam are women.

our partners

carbon neutral

We have partnered with Carbon Neutral to offset our entire business CO2 emissions. From manufacturing our products to the market commute. We offset all our emissions with Carbon Neutral by restoring forests and regenerating native land in Australia.