Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How is your wooden cutlery made? Where do the materials come from?
A: EnvoWise wooden cutlery is made from Birchwood. It is 100% natural as no chemicals are used in the manufacturing process, thus no chemical impact to the environment. The wood harvested from FSC certified well managed forest.
Q: What does it mean to be FSC certified?
A: The FSC certification is considered the “gold standard” designation for wood harvested from forests that are responsibly managed, socially beneficial, environmentally conscious, and economically viable. It ensures that products come from responsibly managed forests that provide environmental, social and economic benefits. The FSC Principles and Criteria provide a foundation for all forest management standards globally, including the FSC US National Standard.
Q: Does using wood cutlery harm tree populations?
A: Wood is one of the most sustainable materials that can be used. It is important though to ONLY use raw materials from responsibly managed forests like us do. We care about the origin of the products, and the impact on the world of making them, as much as you do. All our wooden and paper products are resourced from the FSC certified well managed forest only.
Q: How long does it take for your wooden cutlery fully compost?
A: Our wooden cutlery are all made with natural birch wood and can be compared to food waste. They are fully compostable and decompose in about 90 days when tossed into a home or backyard compost bin or pile. Since landfills are designed for waste to degrade much slower than in a natural setting, it will take about 6 months which is longer than that in your backyard compost!
Q: What is Bioplastic? What’s the difference with regular plastic?
A: Bioplastics is another alternative material to single-use plastic besides wood. They are plastics derived from natural materials, such as corn starch and sugar cane. PLAs, made from polylactic acid, also known as polylactide. Bioplastics are compostable under certain condition. Regular plastic is made from petroleum and it’s not compostable.
Q: How to tell if a Bio-plastic product is Qualified or not?
A: If it looks like the product contains plastic, it must be a certified ” Bio-plastic” to be safe for soils.
Q: What these Bio-plastic certifications are?
A: All above Bio-plastic associations were established to provide testing, education and promotion of compostable products. These certifications give confidence to consumers, composters and regulators of a truly compostable product. Our Bio-plastic cutlery and Bio-plastic plastic bags are all certified and fully compostable.
Q: How long does it take for your bio-plastic cutlery to degrade in a landfill?
A: Regular plastic cutlery might take anywhere from 10-100 years in a landfill.
There are many different compostable plastics on the market and only some of the bioplastic (PLAs) can be composted in commercial facilities.
Q: Are your paper straws biodegradable and compostable?
A: Yes, our paper straws are biodegradable, compostable and plastic free. They will break down when left out in nature.
Q: Is your Paper straw OK for hot beverage?
A: Just to be on the safe side though, try not to drink hot liquid through the straw – drinking hot liquid through a straw gives you almost no way of cooling the liquid down before it hits your mouth, meaning you’ll more than likely suffer from a burn before being harm by potentially melted paper. Our Paper straws are made for cold drinks.
Q:How long your paper straws can hold up in liquid?
A: Our straws are specifically made for long lasting and normally can hold up 3-5 hours in the cold beverages.
Q: Where can I purchase EnvoWise product? Can I buy EnvoWise product directly from you?
A: We are a wholesaler serving various businesses like restaurants, hotels, offices, grocery stores etc. With the increasing demand and inquiries from end-consumers, we are planning to put our product online shortly. Please stay tuned. We will update more information when available.
Q: Where is your company located?
A: We are conveniently located in South Surrey, Great Vancouver, proudly serving the businesses and customers in BC and across Canada.
Q:How do I contact your company if my question isn’t answered here?
A: We’d love to connect with you! Please send us your inquiries from the link below. We will get back to you as soon as possible.