Our cup is essentially made from the skin of a gourd fruit. There is very little to be recovered as they are 100% biodegradable, they can be discarded with food waste. They are also compostable with no synthetic materials, or chemicals included in the final product.
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Are they totally sustainable?
A gourd is a fruit and grown from the land. Once the gourd is transformed into a cup, through our process and used by the customer it naturally can be thrown in the compost. The fruit is biodegradable and returns back to the land that it was originally grown from, therefore, creating a natural circular flow.
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What is the type of gourd plant that is used to grow these cups?
The Gourds are plant based and would be sourced from seeds and grown naturally. Currently, we are working with a gourd farm located in Pennsylvania. We will conduct further research to find the proper strain of gourd that will produce the perfect product to manipulate into a cup or a flask.
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Are they compostable?
Our cup is essentially made from the skin of a fruit. There is very little to be recovered as they are 100% biodegradable, they can be discarded with food waste. They are also compostable with no synthetic materials, or chemicals included in the final product.
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What are the molds made from?
Initially we 3D printed our molds locally from plastic. As we scale up, we have to look to a larger manufacturer who could produce durable, reusable molds.
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How long does it take to grow one cup from seed to finished product?
Each cycle takes about six weeks. - Six cycles per year
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Is this a single use product? Can they be reused?
It is a reusable cup. They can be used multiple times (3-6) and then can be thrown away with normal garbage and/or compost.
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Where can I get these? Am I able to purchase these?
We hope to introduce our product initially to a niche market, such as the coffee or tea industry. We would love to work with eco-conscious or green companies. For example, Clif Bar, an American company that produces organic foods and drinks, reached out to us to inquire about replacing all the cups in their offices. Another possibility would be to partner with a specific brand like Think Coffee, which has implemented projects related to feminine hygiene, adult literacy, medical care, reforestation, and housing restoration. After that, we would love to collaborate with large companies like Starbucks which has high average number of customer per day.
