Young eco-warrior opens own steel straw business
Alyx Currin, 10, will sell her products at the Fine and Fishy market
When 10-year-old Alyx Currin watched a YouTube video of a plastic straw being pulled out of a turtle’s nose, she realised she had to do her bit for the environment.
But it was when she watched a local production, The Last Straw, that the youngster had her lightbulb moment.
The environmentally conscious East London girl decided to kill two birds with one stone – save the environment and sea creatures, and make money in the process.
The Stirling Primary School Grade 5 pupil started I-Candi Creations three months ago.
“Plastic straws pollute the sea and can harm animals. If we keep using so many, by 2050 there will be more plastic straws in the ocean than sea creatures,” the eco-warrior said.
So what is her solution? Do away with plastic straws.
“My steel straws can be used again and again and they won’t pollute the ocean or harm any creatures so I thought it would be nice if more people use those instead.”
Just last month, Tsogo Sun Hemingways general manager John McGregor said plastic straws were being withdrawn from the Hemingways Hotel and the Garden Court on the beachfront.
Alyx and her family have been using the stainless steel straws since her proud mother Bonnie found them at the National Arts Festival this year.
But it was after The Last Straw that Alyx decided more people should be encouraged to use them.
“The rubbish monster [in The Last Straw] was going to eat the creatures and ruin the planet,” Alyx said.
Bonnie said her family have had to get into the habit of always remembering their steel straws when going out to restaurants.
“They’ve been a great investment because they reduce our plastic footprint and they can last forever,” Bonnie said.
Her husband and son are both surfers and the family spend a lot of time at the beach and in the sea.
“Alyx hears about how bad plastic pollution is from her dad all the time, but she’s an animal lover and when she saw just how badly it affected sea creatures, she realised how big the problem really is. Before that it was always just a story,” Bonnie, referring to the video of a plastic straw being pulled out of a turtle’s nose, said.
Alyx has also shifted her entire business to be eco-friendly by making sure not to use single-use plastics for any of her packaging.
“At the last market I did, I decided to use paper packaging for some of my products and I’m going to keep doing that because it’s much better for the environment,” Alyx said.
Under the hashtag #Icanstraw, the metallic, rainbow coloured drinking straws can be bought individually or in a eco-friendly bag and cleaner.
They can be purchased online at www.icandicreations.co.za and will also feature at I-Candi Creations’s stall at the Fine & Fishy market on Saturday in celebration of the reopening of the East London Aquarium.