FAQS
GaeaStar cups are made out of clay, water and salt. They are food-safe glazed and low earthenware fired.
Yes! We want to make single use history and embrace circularity. Reuse our cups as many times as you can for drinks, food or they also make great homes for plants or candles. They only stop working when broken by the user.
Absolutely! Our cups are manufactured to be food safe and are independently tested. We are following food safety requirements covered in the US under the FDA’s Compliance Policy Document (CPG 545.400 and CPG 545.450) and in the EUÂ Food Contact Materials Regulation (EC) 1935/2004.Â
GaeaStar cups are made from clay which is made of natural, inorganic minerals. Inorganic material (like egg shells, bones, seashells) do not compost or biodegrade, but are naturally occurring, therefore do not compost. Once our cups are disposed of, they disintegrate into small fragments and dust by mechanical force. Earth going back to Earth.
The lifetime of our products are based on the user, they are designed to be used multiple times and will only stop working when broken by the user.
Our products reflect our minimalist ethos and are designed eggshell thin to minimize the resources and materials required for each vessel. As such they are delicate and we recommend hand washing.
First, embrace circularity and reuse your cup! Think creatively about how your cup could be given a second life! If you do choose to discard your cup, you can put them in the regular trash. Once our cups are disposed of, they disintegrate into small fragments and dust by mechanical force. Earth going back to Earth.
Our lid solution is currently in development and we are looking to make it available in the first half of 2024. In the meantime, we encourage you to pause, and enjoy the GaeaStar experience the way it’s been done for thousands of years – sip straight from the cup no lid required!
GaeaStar combines traditional ceramic production processes with proprietary additive manufacturing techniques.
GaeaStar’s clay is locally sourced near our hubs in San Francisco and Berlin.
GaeaStar’s mission is to eliminate plastic waste, and our products are 100% plastic free and following the principles of circularity are designed to be used multiple times.
Takeaway cups are lined with a thin layer of plastic to make them waterproof. Research has shown that this lining makes takeaway cups extremely challenging to recycle, not to mention that only 9% of plastic ever produced is recycled and 85% of plastic produced globally goes to landfill. Research has also shown that compostable products run into issues such as industrial composting facility availability, CO2 & methane and harmful toxin (PFAS) emissions post disposal.
GaeaStar is on a journey to be fossil fuel free and our initial focus is on the energy mix used in production. We are in the development phase of our production process, and as part of this we continuously conduct a number of level one analysis of our impact (Life Cycle Analysis). In terms of current impact, GaeaStar cups are 100% plastic free, geo-neutral and multiple use products.
GaeaStar is an early stage company scaling production of our clay cups. Early estimates place the environmental impact resulting from production in the mid-range of single use cups. However, unlike single use cups our products are reusable and leave behind no plastic waste when disposed of. We are also on a journey to utilize 100% green energy to produce our cups to minimize our impact from inception to disposal.