Yokohama Wood Straw Project

The Yokohama Wood Straw Project is to produce locally-made wooden straws named “SDGs Straw Yokohama.” The straws are handmade by people with disabilities working at special subsidiaries of companies in Yokohama, using wood thinned from the water source forest in Doshi Village, Yamanashi Prefecture, which supplies water with citizens in Yokohama. The Yokohama SDGs Design Center is leading the initiative collaborating with an environmental journalist Yuri Takeda, who originally proposed the idea and Acura Home Inc. which planned and developed straws. While promoting the use of the straws in restaurants and hotels in Yokohama, they try to expand the same model to other municipalities in the future.

1. Effective use of thinned wood

The effective use of thinned wood from water source forests in Doshi Village, Yamanashi Prefecture leads to the conservation of forest resources. In addition, the project makes it possible to reduce the carbon footprint during transportation by locally source straws made in Yamanashi and Kanagawa prefecture, compared to importing straws from other counties.

2. Reduction of plastic straw use

The spread of wooden straws can reduce the use of plastic straws and contribute to reducing ocean plastic pollution. The project can also help to raise consumers’ environmental awareness by introducing wood straws to restaurants and hotels in the city and making them more visible to customers.

3. Inclusive employment

The unique feature of this project is that people with disabilities work to make wooden straws. This is a good example of an inclusive circular economy, in a sense that it creates new jobs for people with disabilities by making the transition towards a more circular business model.