A Look Inside: Glass Dharma

GPI talked recently with David Leonhardt, Founder and Owner of Glass Dharma, a company that manufacturers environmentally friendly, reusable glass straws. “My ultimate goal is to provide glass drinking straws to 2% of the population of this country,” says Leondhardt. “That’s about 6 million straws. It’s a pretty heavy mission, but I’m working at it day by day.” Listen to the podcast or hit the jump to read a transcript

GPI: Hi Dave, thanks for joining us. Why did you create a line of glass drinking straws?

Well, I’ve been a glass blower for a number of years. Several years ago, I moved to the Mendocino coast and started working for a glass shop there, and I noticed that they had glass straws. I noticed how they were selling, and as a businessperson, I recognized that this was a good opportunity. It seemed like a really good item. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that ‘oh this could replace plastic straws’. And I started doing research on how much BPA is in most plastics and all that. I started doing research on how many straws McDonald’s gives out per day, which is somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 million, and that combined with eliminating plastic straws from the landfills, I just saw this as a project that could redeem humanity in a sense. There is not one solution to our environmental problems that we have, and there are some that seem apparently small, but if you count the straws that are used daily, it’s a mountain of plastic. It’s a mountain of plastic that goes into our bodies and a mountain of plastic that goes into our landfills. So I designed them to be as durable as possible. I’ve done a lot of research on the glass manufacturing process and I put a lifetime guarantee on my straws, so, not only do you have a straw that replaces plastic straws, but it would last you for life, because if it breaks, you can send it back and we’ll replace it for free.

GPI: Can you elaborate on the benefits of using glass straws?

Well, you know back in the 60’s, I was a boomer, a child of the 60’s, and we all had ideas of grandeur, but somehow we got defocused. I for one definitely got defocused and I got somewhat disillusioned, and so I didn’t do anything for quite a number of years. I went on my way and this is something that, like I said, when I started thinking about the straws and I started doing research as to how it can change, how it can be part of the change in our environment, I just got really excited and this has really turned into a mission for me. My ultimate goal is to provide glass-drinking straws to two percent of the population of this country. That’s about 6 million straws. It’s a pretty heavy mission, but I’m working at it day by day.

GPI: Where are your glass drinking straws currently distributed and do you have plans to expand your brand?

Oh yes, I sure do. You can get them at our website at www.glassdharma.com. A number of wholesale people here at the Living Light Culinary Institute, here in Fort Bragg, carry them and on their website. Greenfeet.com, rawfoodchef.com, greenhome.com, and bar supplies, actually if you go to glassdarma.com, I have a links page and there are a lot of links of other resellers that are selling my straws.