It is not farfetched to imagine our ancient ancestors sipping fresh rainwater from the natural curve of a palm leaf or using a broken shaft of bamboo to snag an out-of-reach fruit branch. Prior to the Bronze age, our cousins’ dining utensils were eco-friendly and biodegradable. Their daily cutlery was sharpened stones or bone, soup spoons fashioned from seashells or antlers. Plates and bowls, when they were used, were probably short, crude cuts of wood.
Without dwelling on the irony, the latest trend toward sustainable living is leading the world back to simpler time. A time when the materials used for daily life were renewable and non-polluting.
One of the paramount materials appearing on the dining table is bamboo. With over 1400 species, bamboo (Bambusoidaeo) is one of the fastest growing terrestrial plants in the world, with several sub-species rising over an inch an hour. This growth rate allows bamboo groves to be harvested every 3-5 years as opposed to 10–20 years for traditional lumber trees. Its inherent strength-to-weight ratio gives bamboo tableware an airy feel, yet it is impressively resilient.
Other plants are also being recruited for sustainable tableware. Sugarcane and wheat straw have proven to be incredibly versatile. While sugarcane is processed into pulp to create many of its plates and bowls, some companies are using materials in their more natural state to create their products.
While the classic ‘paper plate’ was once the mainstay of the Sunday afternoon barbecues, the new place settings of 100% compostable tableware are making our weekend picnics greener and guilt-free.
Setting your table with cutlery from Fuyit will present your guests with sugarcane and cornstarch forks, knives, and spoons. Both compostable and biodegradable, they are microwaveable and freezer safe. Fuyit also boasts of meeting FDA guidelines for food contact surfaces and OK biobased* standards for compostable products.
One company, Brheez, offers a wide variety of bowls and plate styles created with different natural materials. Whether you choose dishes made from bamboo, sugarcane bagasse, or palm leaves, pieces from Brheez are 100% compostable, biodegradable, and environmentally friendly.
Perhaps our favorite tableware examples came to us from Naturally Chic. Formed with fallen palm leaves, the chemical and plastic-free plates, and bowls keep a natural rustic look of the palm leaf. They are durable, microwave safe, and resist bending or becoming soggy.
In fact, we were able to test the Naturally Chic bowls on a recent camping trip. They fared well during the weekend in the wilderness, but to further test their viability, we set aside one bowl filled with water to see how long it would take before it leaked or fell apart. We have to admit; after eight full days, with no sign that the leafy bowl would surrender its integrity, we gave up. For our team, eight days with no leaks garnered five Gold Stars.
