GlassDharma glass straw review and GIVEAWAY!

I have a surprise for my amazing followers! I know some of you will remember a post I did a little while ago where I mentioned my love for Glass Dharma straws! Well, the makers of the original glass straw want to give YOU an opportunity to own and love one as much as I do- for FREE!

As I mentioned in my first post about this amazing glass straw- handmade in the United States- I've had mine for almost 3 years now! They have withstood being carried in my purse, dropped in the floor (although I don't recommend doing it on purpose), tossed by the kids, moved to 3 different dwellings while we were stationed at Fort Bragg, and not a single ONE has cracked, broken, or chipped! And if it had? Guess what! Their Lifetime Guarantee Against Breakage would have handled the replacement!

Bear in mind that they are not unbreakable, just guaranteed! Glass Dharma wants it's customers to be completely satisfied with their products, so if you're not 100% satisfied, they want to know and they want to correct it! If your straw breaks, they want to know and they want to fix it- or replace it! Now, THAT is customer service as it should be.

I believe that all of us here are planet-friendly people, but it wasn't until a few years ago that I realized just how huge a problem plastic straw waste is! Imagine just how many of those things end up trashed every year!? How could something so small be an issue?

According to Glass Dharma's website, in 2008, McDonalds ALONE claimed to serve 52 MILLION meals a day. How many of those do you imagine included a drink with a plastic straw? One little straw is no biggie, but tens of MILLIONS of straws being trashed every day (from only one company!) easily becomes the straw that broke the camel's ecological back! What an environmental disaster (waste created) and biological disaster (chemicals leached from the plastic)! Using glass straws from Glass Dharma is the perfect way to completely avoid contributing to the problem.

I was sent a box of straws- one Beautiful Bends (super cool bent straw), one Simple Elegance (the kind I've had 3 of for almost 3 years and loved!), one green Decorative Dots (a long one), and one amber Decorative Dots (a short one). Also included was a hemp carrying sleeve (natural hemp) and two cleaning brushes, which I will tell you makes cleaning them a breeze.

The Beautiful Bends straw is 9.5mm wide and 9" long, retailing for $8.50. The bend makes it perfect for use in a taller glass and I actually used mine while I was online researching the effects of plastic straws on the environment! It hung over the side of my glass slightly, so I never had to take my eyes off of the screen to ensure that I wasn't about to knock my glass off of the dining room table. Even if you're not a lazy sipper like me, they just look absolutely beautiful in a glass! 

The Simple Elegance straws come in a variety of lengths and widths. As the most cost effective straw, they are fantastic to have on hand for use by the entire family. Their simplicity makes them ridiculously easy to clean- and I truly think that my drinks just taste better when I drink them through a glass straw- these are perfect for the minimalist! I have taken to keeping mine in the fridge- talk about refreshing! While I usually don't drink hot drinks, thus keeping my straws in the fridge, they are perfectly suited for cold OR hot drinks, so use them in everything without worry of damaging them. They were made to be used!

The Decorative Dots straws are so neat! Doing this review was the first time I'd seen one of them, even though I've been lusting after them since I bought my first  set of straws. I love how fun they look and what's impressive to me is that there is no paint to make me concerned and no fading to take away from the beauty of your straw. The dots are colored glass (that come in blue, red, green, or amber), the same glass as the straws, which means that they are made of borosilicate glass, the strongest commercially available glass! The tall Decorative Dots straws are stunning and the shorter straws are now my first choice for my kids. They're strong, beautiful, and the colored dots make them perfect for color coding- no more mixing up the kid's cups!

I have been carrying my straw in my purse wrapped haphazardly in a cloth napkin for dining out, so I was really excited to try the hemp carrying sleeve! I was instantly hooked on the look and texture of the sleeve- it just looks environmentally responsible! I was sent the natural hemp sleeve (that retails for $12.00) to try out and that is definitely the one I would have ordered for myself. The fabric swatch, pictured below, gives you an idea of the color options you have if you're interested in a sleeve that isn't the natural hemp color- purple dawn, ocean blue, deep moss, and black pearl (that retail for $15.00 each). Regardless of the color, you can choose from 3 sizes to get the best fit for your straw!

Since I've had plenty of experience with the Simple Elegance straws and there were two of the Decorative Dots straws, we tried out the amber Decorative Dots straw and the Beautiful Bends straw to let you know how they work and what we thought of them! Do you know what that means for you guys?! I have two straws and two cleaning brushes to give to you!

Up for grabs, we have two gift sets, courtesy of Glass Dharma.

Set one:
A green Decorative Dots straw that is 9.5mm wide and 9" long. This straw does not normally come with a cleaning brush, but for our giveaway, it will! The cleaning brushes normally retail for $5.00 each. The green dots are absolutely beautiful and as an added bonus, keeps that pesky straw from rolling off of the table! Retails for $9.00 each on their website. (A total value of $14.00)

Set two:
A Simple Elegance straw that is 12mm wide and 9" long, making it perfect for drinking smoothies, even ones with fantastic fruit pieces that normally get stuck in the straw or never make it in! This is the mac daddy of glass straws and we have really enjoyed ours over the years! This straw has a cleaning brush in it's box! Retails for $8.50 each on their website, plus the cleaning brush! (A total value of $13.50)

This is mine, yours is new in the box!

I thoroughly enjoyed getting to communicate with the incredible people at Glass Dharma while we were planning this blog posting and the giveaway! What an incredible company selling handmade products, all made in the U.S- even the sleeves and brushes!

To win one of the two gift sets, here is what you do:

Mandatory entry, include your name and email address in this comment:
- follow "Where am I?"

Extra entries, please leave 1 comment per entry:
- like "Glass Dharma on Facebook" and let them know how much we appreciate this giveaway!
- suggest something you'd like to see more of here at "Where am I?"
- suggest "Where am I?" to a friend (and/or create a blog or Facebook posting about this giveaway), having them follow and let me know YOU sent them!

All in all, you can have 4 entries each.
I will use random.org to choose a winner on Friday, May 20th!

"Sip the world, taste the difference."
(and Happy Winning!)