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The Lion’s Den: Plastic-Free Straws

Sustainable drinking pleasure: straws without plastic. In the next episode “The Lion’s Den”, a young start-up relies entirely on edible straws. Will the lions bite on this deal?

Strong idea: straw without plastic

What does a European and world champion in weightlifting and environmental protection have to do with each other? Lots! Konstantin Neumann shows this in a new episode “Die Höhle der Löwen”. The 21-year-old powerhouse and his friends Philipp Silbernagel (26) and Danilo Jovicic (29) declare war on plastic waste with their edible drinking straws.

Sustainable and tasty: “Eatapple” is a fruit-based drinking straw and an environmentally friendly and sustainable alternative to the plastic version. The healthy drinking straw is made from natural ingredients, the basic material is specially treated apple pomace. The three founders will present their business model this Tuesday at 8:15 p.m. on “Die Höhle der Löwen” on VOX.

Sustainable business model to bite into?

Whether made of glass, wood, or edible – the idea of ​​making drinking straws more environmentally friendly in the future and producing straws without plastic is currently on everyone’s lips. Larger corporations such as Starbucks have already decided to use plastic-free alternatives when it comes to straws. The three young founders have also recognized this: In order to make their straw marketable without plastic, they researched and developed it for two years.

Now the three young entrepreneurs want to bring their “Eatapple” to bars, hotels, beaches, and private households. But for this, they need the financial support of 200,000 euros. In return, the trio “Löwen” offers eight percent of their company. “Of course, a deal would catapult us a lot forward,” explains Konstantin Neumann. Is this how you can get the lions to eat their drinking straw?

Are you also committed to sustainability and would you like to find out more about the young entrepreneurs from “Eatapple”? Then you will find a detailed portrait here.

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Food

Chicle: This is How Plastic-Free Chewing Gum is Made From Tree Sap

Chicle is a sustainable raw material that some companies use to make petroleum-free chewing gum. Here you can find out what exactly is behind the substance and how recommendable it really is.

What is chicle?

Chicle is a rubbery substance derived from the milky sap of tropical trees. For the most part, manufacturers use the sap of the pulp apple tree. But the balata tree and other members of the so-called Manilkara tree family also provide the required liquid.

To get the milk from a tree, you carve a canal in the bark and siphon off the liquid. The trees are usually not damaged by this harvesting method. Even the ancient Aztecs are said to have obtained chicle and used it as chewing gum.

This is how chicle is used

Chicle is now the basis of some alternative chewing gums. In contrast to conventional products, these are therefore biodegradable. Because conventional chewing gum is based on gum made from petroleum. The production of oil brings with it major ecological problems: Among other things, it promotes social grievances and political conflicts and destroys forest areas.

In addition, petroleum-based rubber is not biodegradable. So the chewing gum sticks to roads and forest paths for a long time. Chewing gum made from chicle is said to solve this problem.

But chicle also has an ecological disadvantage: the pulp apple tree and other Manilkara species mostly come from the tropical regions of Central America. The milky juice therefore has to travel long distances to Germany and has a correspondingly poor eco-balance.

Chicle chewing gum: These products exist

Despite their questionable eco-balance, it can be assumed that chicle chewing gum is generally a more sustainable alternative to products containing petroleum. The most well-known chicle products that you can find in German drugstores as well as organic and supermarkets are:

True Gum: The Danish company produces fully biodegradable chewing gum in Denmark. The chewing gums are sugar-free and vegan-certified.
Forest Gum: This Cologne start-up also produces biodegradable, sugar-free and vegan chicle chewing gum. According to its own statements, the company relies on direct trade and pays attention to fair working conditions.
Chicza: This company’s chewing gums are one of the few chicle products to be certified organic. Overall, Chicza products have been awarded five different organic seals. This also includes the Swedish Krav seal, which stands for fair working conditions in addition to ecological criteria. Like Forest Gum, Chicza practices direct trading. The Chicza chewing gums contain sugar syrup.

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