While working an internship in Washington DC in the summer of 2018, Porter Kennedy noticed the prevalence of paper straws surrounding him in restaurants and other venues, so he decided to research the phenomenon. From there, Porter discovered just how terrible plastic straws are for the environment as one of the biggest culprits behind harming marine life and being among the top five items found in ocean clean ups. After his internship ended, Porter knew he had to do something. He enlisted his longtime friend Kressie Kornis for help in creating SOstraws because of their mutual passion for the environment. Thus, SOstraws was born! They went with the name SOstraws [so-straws] to stand for Save the Oceans Straws. You can read more about Porter and Kressie in Meet the Co-Founders. Porter and Kressie are dedicated to doing more than just replacing plastic with paper. This is why SOstraws is committed to donating a portion of our profits to ocean benefiting charities. Theres a reason we went with our signature bamboo print straw. After testing paper straw after paper straw, Kressie and Porter soon learned that not all paper straws are created equal. Most paper straws are of poor quality, have a strange artificial taste, and quickly fall apart. This is unfortunate, because many people need and prefer straws. Those with disabilities, sensitive teeth, and even those who are just simply wishing to live a more sustainable lifestyle need a viable alternative. Then, they found their SOstraws. One of the paper straw qualities Kressie was specifically seeking in their testing was a paper straw she could use in her smoothies, and she found it. Our straws are of the highest paper straw quality. They are guaranteed to last in your beverages. You can even set out SOstraws to dry if youd like to reuse them! What puts SOstraws above others is that theyre much thicker than your average paper straw and have many more layers of paper than others on the market.