MEETING SHIFTING PUBLIC ATTITUDES CAN BE BOTH OPPORTUNITY AND CHALLENGE

Craig Graffius started EcoGlass Straws 12 years ago with three decades of glassmaking experience and his vision for an alternative to the ubiquitous plastic straw. What he didn’t have was anyone clamouring for his product.

Today, his tiny four-person shop in Hood River, Oregon, is gearing up to turn out 2,000 handcrafted glass straws an hour. That’s up from the current pace of 125 an hour, or 1,000 a day.

EcoGlass’s surging output underscores a wave of change sweeping through the supply chain as the straw emerges as a central symbol of the world’s plastic trash crisis. With consumers searching for greener options, companies from Starbucks Corp. to McDonald’s Corp. to MGM Resorts International are responding.

“Everybody’s got to find a replacement,” said Graffius, who has seen orders more than triple in the past year after a long struggle to convince buyers his wares were more than just a novelty. “We didn’t anticipate this happening. We were going to really hit the market.’’ But instead, “it’s hitting us.”

Plastic straws are just one example of how companies are being forced to adapt to changing public attitudes about the environment. For some, abandoning traditional plastic raises costs, threatens sales and forces uncomfortable conversations with customers. Others see an opportunity for new business with the rise in demand for alternatives.

The furor dates to a viral 2015 video of marine biologists pulling a straw from deep inside the nose of a sea turtle. Then in 2017 the “Strawless in Seattle” campaign motivated cities to take action. The public outcry escalated to the point McDonald’s, Starbucks and MGM have vowed to phase out their reliance on plastic straws globally.

While straws account for just 0.03 per cent of the 8 million metric tons of plastic that enters the ocean each year, according to a 2015 study, the disturbing images refocused the world’s attention on the problem.

“The anti-single-use-plastic movement is much bigger than those who identify as environmentalists,” said Maisie Ganzler, brand chief for Bon Appetit Management Co., a food-service chain that on May 31 said it would stop using traditional plastic straws. “When people see the photographic evidence of the amount of plastic pollution in our oceans and in the bodies of birds, fish, turtles and whales, it’s stomach-turning no matter what your politics are,” Ganzler said.

As of July 1, Seattle became the first major U.S. city to outlaw plastic straws, following similar measures by smaller towns along the East and West Coasts. Even where laws haven’t changed, the public outcry is pressuring companies to respond or risk alienating customers. That pressure travels up and down the supply chain.

The largest U.S. paper straw maker, Aardvark Straws, can’t keep up with the flood of new orders, leaving some customers to wait three months for their orders to be filled.

Eco-Products Inc., which supplies food-service giants such as US Foods Holdings Corp. and Sysco Corp., has seen demand for its compostable straws double in the last six months.

When he was first getting EcoGlass off the ground, Graffius spent years travelling to craft shows and conferences handing out free samples of his glass straws to drum up business. “I spent a lot of money and I pretty much got nowhere,” he said.

Graffius abandoned his marketing efforts and refocused on making his straws. He imports shatter-resistant glass from Germany and then hand-shapes and polishes it into smooth, dishwasher-safe drinking tubes “almost equal to the silverware that’s in your drawer.’’

Pelinti Pizza, is among the new customers stocking EcoGlass straws. Owner Gabriel Head says customers have been “overwhelmingly positive,” with many thanking him for providing an option other than plastic.

“People who care, get it,’ he said.