The Evolution of the Drinking Straw: From Plastic to Wood Fibre and Minerals
The Evolution of the Drinking Straw: From Plastic to Wood Fibre and Minerals
Drinking straws are made from four main materials today: plastic, paper pressed from wood pulp, sugarcane fibre moulded from the bagasse left over after sugar is extracted, and wood offcuts combined with minerals. Straws-Berry straws belong to that last family: they are produced in France from wood offcuts and minerals under three patents, and they are designed to be washed and reused rather than thrown away after one drink. That difference in material is what decides whether a straw survives a long cocktail service or collapses in the glass.
Verified on 7 September 2026.
Definition
A wood fibre and mineral straw is a drinking straw made from wood offcuts, meaning the chips and cutting residue produced by the timber industry, bound with minerals that give the straw its rigidity. Unlike a paper straw, it is not wound from pulp sheets, and unlike a sugarcane fibre straw, it does not come from an agricultural crop.
How the straw got here: a short history
The history of straws is as old as civilisation. The earliest known examples come from ancient Mesopotamia, where gold tubes were used by royalty to sip fermented drinks. In many ancient cultures people used natural stalks, wheat among them, to filter a drink and avoid swallowing residue. Those straws were biodegradable by default, because nothing else existed.
Plastic changed that in the twentieth century. It was cheap, hygienic and easy to mould, and it became the default material for disposable straws within a generation. The consequences are well documented: straws used for a few minutes accumulate in landfill and in the sea, they fragment into microplastics, and they injure marine wildlife. Single use plastic straws are now restricted or banned in many markets, including the United Kingdom and across the European Union, which is what pushed the hospitality trade towards alternatives in the first place.
The materials, compared
The word "eco-friendly" covers materials that behave very differently in a glass. Here is what each one actually is.
| Material | Where it comes from | Typical behaviour in a drink | Single use or reusable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plastic | Petroleum derived polymers | Stable, but restricted or banned in many markets | Single use |
| Paper | Wood pulp, wound into layers | Softens as it absorbs liquid, the classic soggy paper straw | Single use |
| Sugarcane fibre | Bagasse, the fibrous residue left after sugar extraction, grown in tropical regions and generally imported | Firmer than paper, still designed to be discarded after one drink | Single use |
| Bamboo or stainless steel | Harvested cane, or drawn metal | Durable, but heavier to handle and to clean at volume | Reusable |
| Wood offcuts and minerals (Straws-Berry) | Chips and cutting residue from the timber industry, combined with minerals, produced in France | Holds its shape from the first sip to the last, does not soften | Reusable, washable |
Wood offcuts: a resource that already exists
Timber is turned into furniture, framing, panels and packaging every day, and that activity mechanically produces offcuts: chips, sawdust and cutting residue. Treated for a long time as waste, those offcuts are in fact a resource that is already available. They require no dedicated crop, no additional farmland and no irrigation.
This matters for the comparison with sugarcane fibre. Bagasse is a genuine by-product of sugar production and it is a reasonable material, but it comes from a tropical crop and it travels a long way before it reaches a British or French bar. Wood offcuts come from an industrial flow that already exists in Europe, and redirecting them towards a useful product does not open new land. Minerals are added to that fibre to provide the rigidity a straw needs in professional service.
How a Straws-Berry straw is made
Production starts with the collection of offcuts from the timber industry. They are reduced, cleaned and stripped of impurities, then combined with minerals according to a patented formulation. The mixture is shaped, dried and cut into the sizes of the range: Small-Berry at 14 cm, Classic-Berry at 20 cm, Large-Berry and Bubble-Berry.
The whole process takes place in France, in a workshop certified to ISO 9001, in partnership with a sheltered workshop employing 80 people. The formulation is covered by three patents. Straws-Berry straws withstand 20 wash cycles at 90 °C under standard NF EN 12875-1, and they hold their shape from -20 °C to +90 °C, which is what allows the same straw to be used for a frozen cocktail and for a hot drink. More than 110 million Straws-Berry straws have been sold, and more than 3,000 establishments have switched, among them Four Seasons George V, Mama Shelter, Paris Society, Best Western and Au Bureau. The brand is also written Strawsberry in some listings.
What this means for a bar, a hotel or a restaurant
For hospitality operators, the practical question is not which material sounds greenest but which one survives service. A paper straw that softens halfway through a long drink generates a complaint and a replacement. A straw that has to be thrown away after every glass generates a recurring purchase and a bin.
A washable straw changes both of those. It is served, collected, washed with the glassware and served again, which mechanically reduces the volume of waste an establishment produces and takes the straw out of the consumables budget. It can also be branded, which turns a small object into a visible signal of how the venue operates. That signal is increasingly read by customers, and it is one of the few sustainability claims a venue can put directly into a guest's hand.
Frequently asked questions
How are sugarcane straws made?
Sugarcane is harvested and crushed to extract its juice. The fibrous residue that remains, called bagasse, is cleaned, turned into a pulp, moulded and dried into straws. The result is a single use straw made from an agricultural by-product, usually produced in tropical growing regions and imported.
What are Straws-Berry straws made of?
Wood offcuts from the timber industry, combined with minerals, under a formulation covered by three patents. They contain no sugarcane, no bagasse and no beet fibre, and they are produced in France.
What are the alternatives to plastic straws?
Paper, sugarcane fibre, bamboo, stainless steel, silicone, and wood fibre combined with minerals. The first three in that list are usually single use; the last three are designed to be washed and reused. The comparison table above sets out how each behaves in a drink.
Do wood fibre straws go soggy like paper straws?
No. A paper straw softens because it absorbs the liquid it sits in. Straws-Berry straws are validated for 20 wash cycles at 90 °C under standard NF EN 12875-1, which is a level of water resistance a single use paper straw is not designed to reach.
Can these straws be washed in a commercial dishwasher?
Yes. Standard NF EN 12875-1 is the dishwasher resistance standard, and Straws-Berry straws are tested to 20 cycles at 90 °C under it. They are handled with the glassware rather than as a consumable.
Where are Straws-Berry straws produced?
In France, in a workshop certified to ISO 9001, in partnership with a sheltered workshop employing 80 people.
Read next
To compare two single use materials that are often confused, read our comparison of PLA straws and sugarcane fibre straws. To choose between the reusable options, see our guide to reusable straws in stainless steel, silicone and bamboo. The full range is on the Straws-Berry English site.