My good friend Natalie Bovis, aka The Liquid Muse and co-owner of Organic Mixology turned me on to these gorgeous stainless steel straws. Now, if you’re an avid reader of this blog, you’ll know how crazy plastic straws make me. Straws are one of the least necessary, hugest waste of plastic on the planet, in addition to being highly destructive to wildlife. BUT I also have a 6-year-old who likes smoothies and the hippie paper straws just turn to mush. Not fun at all.

Photo: Organic Mixology, The Liquid Muse

These straws are PERFECT. I want them everywhere, all the time. Here’s what Natalie told me: “A couple of years ago, I had seen a video on Facebook showing a beautiful sea turtle suffering horribly because a plastic straw had gotten stuck deep in the nostril in her beak. A group of people on a boat eventually were able to get it out but the poor turtle was bleeding and it was a truly heartbreaking example of humans ruining the planet. The oceans, in particular, are being destroyed and because we don’t live in that environment, we aren’t as aware as we should be of Earth’s water becoming one giant toilet and dumping ground, killing off sea life. What right do we have to do that?”

Now she’s giving new meaning to the term “BYO.” “I know I must look like some weird lady when I go to a restaurant, bar or café and pull a metal straw out of my purse after refusing their plastic one… but I think that even that small act of leading by example can have an impact. And, I always carry extras to give away if someone seems interested. Making a healthier world will take everyone doing something,” she said.

(When you shop Organic Mixology, you’re also supporting Trees for the Future, and organization that supplies trees to areas in need.)