Picture this… it’s the summer of mom jeans, scrunchies, fanny packs, and tie-dyed tees. While many adults can think back to these trends in their generation, so can us teenagers. The year of 2019 has been filled with blasts from the pasts, as these old spirited trends are popping back up and making statements once again. Not only has 2019 given us a new definition of youth and fashion, but it has also brought forth an abundance of teen-involved movements.

A movement I am particularly interested in is the fight to save our world and our wildlife through means of using metal straws instead of plastic straws, thrifting, and focusing more on using reusable containers and less plastic. There have been mass movements and hundreds of thousands of posts shared about being active in keeping the earth clean and plastic free. This movement of changing the world, ditching plastics, and caring for the earth and wildlife has been around for years, but just like the fashion trends that occurred again, so did the clean earth movement.

The last few years have seen controversies over the use of plastic straws. A video surfaced on the internet of a turtle with a plastic straw stuck in and wedged in his nose. This video gained over 30.7 million views on just YouTube alone, which doesn’t even account for all the views on other social media platforms. This video caused so many disputes, and was a big step towards “saving the sea turtles” and “saving the world.” Plastic straws were becoming banned in some places around the world. Even if they weren’t banned, people shifted the markets to purchase their very own reusable straw, whether it be made from metal, paper, or even bamboo.

I wanted to see what all the hype was about around the world, so I went and purchased my own metal straw, bamboo straw, and paper straws. For me, I tend to not use straws or even lids very often, but for the sake of the research, I decided to give them all a try and see how I liked them all and how they compared. The metal straw was durable and cute, and came with a case for carrying. The only true “complaint” I have is that even after cleaning the straw before use, there was a metallic taste left in my mouth. This may just be because of the specific brand I bought, but anything metal like the straw will likely tend to leave at least some sort of metallic taste at first. After a few more cleanings, hopefully that will eliminate the strong metallic taste. Other than that, I have no complaints. It is very durable, and a greener option that is also easily portable.

The next straw I tested out was the paper straw. The paper straw was definitely my least favorite of the three, mainly because after only taking a few sips of my drink using the paper straw, the top of the straw became soggy. The straw also felt weird in my mouth because of how dry it was; it was basically the equivalent of sticking rolled up paper in your mouth, instead of a straw. It is also just a one-time use straw. The paper straws are not super reliable, so I wouldn’t be comfortable leaving it sitting in my drink for longer than 10 minutes or so. Although paper straws are a greener option in comparison to plastic straws, they are not an actual green option.

The last straw I tested is definitely my favorite. The bamboo straw was everything the metal straw was, except without the metallic taste. Unlike the metal straw, it didn’t come with a portable case, and it wasn’t collapsible. It’s a cute straw that is very ecofriendly and honestly, even before the #skipthestraw movement, the bamboo straw was just overall more comfortable to use. Plastic straws use to tear and end up pinching my lip or just ripping all the way. The bamboo straw was more durable feeling than all of the other straws and just overall is a straw I actually enjoyed using. The only complaint I have, which isn’t much of a complaint, is just the fact that it wasn’t collapsible, so it made it a little harder to really travel with in a tiny case.

Overall, any progress made is good and should be recognized. People in 2019 are really stepping up and involving themselves, even if it is through something as small as a straw.