Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Resin pricing news
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • CEO Issue
    • Diversity
    • Best Places to Work
      • 2022 winners
    • Processor of the Year
    • Rising Stars
    • Women Breaking the Mold
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • BRICS and Plastics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Reuters Responsible Business Europe 2022
    • Reifenhäuser Technologies Livestreams
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Resin Prices
    • All Resins
    • Commodity TPs
    • High Temp TPs
    • ETPs
    • Thermosets
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
    • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
    • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Historic Thermosets
    • Historic Recycled Plastics
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
March 15, 2019 02:00 AM

Injection molded Rain Straw finds crowdfunding support

Catherine Kavanaugh
Staff Writer
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    Rain Straw
    The injection molded Rain Straw is a reusable straw that can be taken apart for cleaning.

    A reusable straw made from injection molded parts sucked up a lot of attention and more than $75,000 of financial support on the project launch site Kickstarter.

    The "high-tolerance" polypropylene product called Rain Straw comes in halves that slide together for drinking and then slide apart for cleaning. Despite having two components, the product offers the same suction and performance as typical extruded straws, according to the creators.

    "With the Rain Straw's patent-pending airlock design we guarantee a no-drip sip for the lifetime of the straw, which is about a million years. So, make sure to put your straw in your will," quips a product spokesperson in the Kickstarter video.

    The developers of Rain Straw say it is better for the environment than single-use plastic straws, which end up as litter or landfilled, and better for the user's health and hygiene because it comes apart and all debris can be seen and removed.

    The Kickstarter video shows droplets and chunks coating the inner walls of cross sections of extruded straws used to drink smoothies, coffee and milk. It warns that dishwashers clean only outer surfaces and pipe cleaners don't get all the debris.

    Rain Straw says its two-part construction allows for quick and thorough cleaning with a rinse, towel or dishwasher and then users can see that it is clean.

    "If you can't get a look inside your straw after you wash or scrub it, you will never know what is still lurking inside," the product video says. "That means you'll be flushing your mouth with new and old flavors for weeks to come. Mmmm, moldy spinach cola."

    Rain Straw's creators are Jeremy Smith and Sean Watkins. They're doing business as Rain with Smith as the chief innovation officer and Watkins as CEO. The pair have worked on several successful Kickstarter campaigns, including SnapRays night/guide lights and SnapPower USB ports. Snap Rays raised $480,411 in 30 days through Kickstarter and won a Best of IBS award at the 2015 International Builders' Show.

    With straws a hot topic lately, Smith began looking into problems with the current options.

    "The first and most obvious problem he came across was how difficult they are to clean," Watkins said. "After some experimenting he approached me with the idea of the Rain Straw. Immediately after hearing him out, I went straight home and pulled out my kids reusable straws from the clean drawer. I took one look inside the straw and saw crusty dried up smoothie residue on the inside walls. That's when I knew this was a real problem that needed solving."

    Rain Straw reached its $12,000 fund-raising goal in less than an hour. Nine days into its month-long fund-raising campaign was at $75,000 from almost 2,900 backers with one commenting, "Always thought reusable straws were too disgusting and hard to clean. Just went in for 20 and plan on gifting a bunch out."

    The Rain Straw video says if a straw goes unwashed for 24 hours it can harbor as much bacteria as a public toilet seat.

    The online campaign page cites the controversial statistic that American use 500,000 single-use straws every day and attributes it to experts. One commenter challenged the figure and its source, which was a 9-year-old student working on a school project in 2011. Another project follower noted that many U.S. cities are banning plastic straws but the country isn't a big contributor to plastic marine debris.

    "Basically, if other countries don't learn to better manage their trash then nothing's going to change," he said.

    A third person said he didn't care if the number for single-use plastic straws was inflated.

    "Use your eyes and you'll see that they're everywhere," he said. "That's all the research I need."

    Now that the Rain Straw, project is funded, Smith and Watkins will start the tooling process for the final product, ramp up for production in April and begin full manufacturing in May. They've picked a manufacturer with a headquarters in China and production facility in the Philippines.

    "It's going well so far but it has certainly been a new challenge for us," Watkins told Plastics News. "Because something like this has not been injected molded before, it has taken us additional work to find a factory that is even capable of doing something like this."

    The tooling process for the Rain Straw is considered complex for a few reasons, Watkins added.

    "Because the width of the plastic material is relatively thin in comparison to it's length, the tool must be extremely high precision in order to create a tight fit. It is also important that it be shot in a specific manner in order to prevent any deformation. The factory doing this needs to be highly skilled and specialized in this type of tooling.

    Watkins and Smith expect to start shipping the product to backers in July and will sell Rain Straw through their website, online retailers and brick-and-mortar stores. The planned prices are five for $25, 10 for $45 and 15 for $60.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Plastics adapt to a rapidly changing auto market
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    One-third of ExxonMobil shareholders back study on virgin plastics risks
    2
    Changes at the top look promising for Plastics Industry Association
    3
    Ford to use 20% recycled, renewable plastics by 2025
    4
    Rehau selling Russian operations as Ukraine invasion continues
    5
    Stellantis replaces North American purchasing chief amid supplier relations woes
    SIGN UP FOR TO RECEIVE THESE EMAILS AND ENEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Urethanes Technology
    • European Rubber Journal
    • Tire Business
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2022. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • CEO Issue
        • Diversity
        • Best Places to Work
          • 2022 winners
        • Processor of the Year
        • Rising Stars
        • Women Breaking the Mold
      • Newsletters
      • Resin pricing news
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • BRICS and Plastics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • Reuters Responsible Business Europe 2022
        • Reifenhäuser Technologies Livestreams
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Resin Prices
      • All Resins
      • Commodity TPs
        • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temp TPs
        • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
      • ETPs
        • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Thermosets
        • Historic Thermosets
      • Recycled Plastics
        • Historic Recycled Plastics
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified