Introducing Huski Home (this is not a paid advert, I just love this brand).
I first met Lisa (one half of the Huski brand) at my conscious consumerism talk in London, what struck me about her (besides her obvious enthusiasm for her product) was her sincerity. I have brands get in touch with me all the time, problem being that as someone who’s advocating for consuming less I truly don’t have any desire to advertise consuming more to anyone following me. Much to the dismay of my bank account. With Huski though, I honestly am a convert. I’ve used the top branded plastic travel mugs, the glass ones too, but Huski is different!
There has been a lot of controversy lately about bamboo mugs marketed as an eco friendly product actually being pretty bad for the environment- and when you have a little think it makes sense. Bamboo, whilst fast growing and fabulous for things like bamboo cotton or paper in some cases need to be mixed with a polymer in order to form a solid product. What was happening with the mugs was they were taking fibres and mixing them with plastic to bond them… tut tut. This makes a lot of the mugs out there on the market just another plastic product. Let me tell you how Huski compares…
Huski is made from rice husks (or hulls). They’re the part of the rice which protects it but doesn’t get eaten, in the same way that nut shells can’t be eaten. They have all kinds of fabulous uses like insulation, fertiliser, building materials, the list goes on; and best yet, there is an abundance of them! I’m assured that rice is the number one staple eaten throughout the world, and this rings true specifically in Asia where they source their materials.
Huski cups and lunchboxes are made from rice hulls mixed with a bio polymer which makes them durable and means they don’t leak horrible toxins into your hot drinks or food when heated, and boy do they maintain the heat/ cool! Thanks to double walled insulation my tea is just as hot when I board the train as it was when I left my house.
Are they biodegradable? Yes. But let’s break that down a little further (no pun intended). Whilst there is currently no law on what is compostable (which is terrible and means companies can claim their items are compostable when they’re not) we can assume that if working to the current standards* anything compostable should break down in 12 weeks in a normal home compost leaving no particles larger than 2mm. Biodegradable on the other hand means that things will break down eventually, but that it will take time… and some time is better than never.
So why rice husk? The hulls are a bi-product of an existing industry, they’re so abundant that there is surplus to go around and in true circular economy style it makes more sense to use what we already have. They’re mixed with a bio resin which breaks down over time with the product. I questioned Lisa in a phone conversation and she was SO open and honest with the lifecycle of their products. Besides being incredibly knowledgeable and transparent she was also honest about what people should expect from a Huski product. In short they will take approximately 15 years to break down based on their tests. When you compare that to a plastic cup which could take thousands of years (bearing in mind even glass cups have plastic lids) that’s a fantastic result!
Lisa and her husband Luke have been working in the product design and manufacture industry for decades. Together they’ve built a reputation for high quality and their shift into the eco market comes alongside their own green journey and the need to create a better world for their children. I remember Lisa telling me that she recognised that the products she initially started off making were not sustainable in our current economy which shifted her own views and lead her to take huge leaps to transform their existing business model. We need more thought leaders like this, willing to sacrifice their wage and their company to make the world a better place. When you buy a Huski product you can be assured you’re buying from a business that truly gives a damn about what our future world looks like, and that’s exactly the kind of business that needs our support.
So if you happen to be in the market for a new travel mug or lunchbox I can’t rate them highly enough. Let me know your thoughts.
*Standards exist for compostability but there is no current law which prosecutes anyone from making claims that they can’t actually uphold.
