2019 seems to be the year of taking actionable steps towards reducing single-use plastic, and reusable to-go containers and multi-purpose utensil sets are a useful and impactful way to start doing so in your everyday life. On that note, Anvil Studios and UCO Ware have created the Bamboo 5-piece set, a non-plastic meal and utensil meal kit made of 90% natural materials:
While many of UCO Ware’s products are focused on camping and outdoor activities, for this challenge, they enlisted Anvil Studios to design containers that were functional in settings off-campsite. “The solutions needed to be truly useful and not make compromises for either of its intended uses; outdoor and cafeteria (the collection should be just as comfortable in an REI as it is at your office),” says Treasure Hinds, cofounder of Anvil Studios.
One of their core objectives was to redesign the Spork, the ubiquitous, yet oftentimes unuseful tool that isn’t quite a spoon and isn’t quite a fork. By designing the Switch Spork Utensil set with connecting ends, Anvil has created transportable, compact utensils without compromising function. A tether holds everything in place, making sure that the lid doesn’t fall off and the utensils don’t get lost in the depths of your bag.
Specifically designed as an eco-friendly offering, innovative solutions and material exploration were key to the project’s objectives. Anvil Studios worked to include new, interesting, and exciting ways to mix various materials. They landed on the a renewable pulped bamboo as the main material, which consists of finely crushed bamboo that is mixed with starch and resin as the binder. Creating new materials out of renewable ingredients is going to become more and more common over the next few years, and we’re excited to see one of such materials be applied to the Spork (of all things).