Our beginnings

Bamboo Straw Girl is a homegrown Singapore social enterprise that aims to start eco conversations through the simple bamboo straw -- nature’s solution to nasty plastic!

Our founder, Melissa Lam (a.k.a. Bamboo Straw Girl), is a strong green advocate and has engaged schools, organisations and community groups in the movement against single-use plastics. She was inspired to take individual action in the fight against wasteful consumption after spending time hiking and camping in her late teens.

Since our incorporation, our company has provided employment opportunities or supplementary streams of income for at least half a dozen South East Asian artisans. 

We were the very first "zero-waste lifestyle" store in Singapore even before “zero-waste” became a buzzword! We aim to be as plastic-free and low-impact as we can, from production to point of sale.

(Image credit: Lianhe Zaobao)

We started with just one product -- the bamboo straw -- and now have a full range of lifestyle products to help you on your personal eco journey. It starts small!

(Above: Mel working on straws)

We work directly with makers to create our products. There is a focus on waste-reduction -- our products are all low-impact, with little to no by-products or discarded materials in the production process. We also repurpose materials where we can. Our popular batik strawkeepers and batik bulk bags, for example, are hand-stitched from fabric scraps that would otherwise be sent to the landfill or incinerator.

We believe that using all-natural products is a meditation on our connection to our land, and we hope to share this consciousness with all our customers and clients.

For wholesale enquiries, collaborations, or to invite us to your school/company/organisation, contact us at bamboostrawgirl@gmail.com