Our Mission
To reduce single-use plastic in the environment by upcycling residual agave waste to create biodegradable solutions.
Our Story
The Sustainable Agave Company was born out of the waste created from tequila - and a desire to reduce the environmental impact in rural Mexico. Tequila production creates millions of tonnes of residual waste every single year - causing a tremendous negative environmental impact. Sustainable Agave Company repurposes the waste of tequila production into innovative, useful, sustainable and biodegradable products. Our goal is to encourage our partners to replace single-use plastics with sustainable agave-based products that are exciting and environmentally beneficial.
Our factory is dedicated to providing sustainable solutions made from agave. We realized the large amounts of fiber-waste generated from the harvesting of the agave plant required an environmental solution. Hence, our factory was born. We developed a patented process converting agave raw material into everyday environmentally-friendly, disposable items.
Our factory facility is located in Jalisco, Mexico, 45 kms from the town of Tequila. While our solar-powered factory was built to create our core product line, the facility also contains a laboratory and research & development facilities.
Our Social Responsibility Platform
At the Sustainable Agave Company we are committed to donating to important causes and organizations that are driving real change. We look to partner with non-profit organizations doing great work in the sustainability space with a focus on reducing the negative impact of single-use plastics. We are committing 1% of total sales of our agave-based straws to the nonprofit sector.
Being kind to the environment is in our DNA and is something that inspires us each day. We do this through the manner in which we upcycle our raw plant material. We get a second-use out of the agave fiber by diverting it into our proprietary production process. We are then able to create useful, sustainable and biodegradable products that are an effective, eco-friendly way to replace single-use plastics.
We are committed to providing fair and equitable wages to our employees. We seek to support the regions in which we operate, by employing local talent. As a truly North American company, we have staff across Canada, the United States and Mexico. Women represent 75% of our executive leadership team and 66% of our corporate workforce.
At the Sustainable Agave Company we are motivated to give back to our communities. In 2021 we are encouraging our employees to give back some of their time - to causes close to their hearts. We support employees by giving them one paid volunteer day to use as they see fit. Additionally, we also channel our volunteering efforts into team-building activities. This year our employees in Mexico and Canada are planning socially distanced team events to clean up plastics and other harmful debris from our local waterways.
Our Process: Upcycling the Waste from Tequila
Tequila production involves extracting all juices and sugars from the agave plant. The residual fiber that remains is known as the bagazo; and it has become a major environmental problem. Every litre of tequila produced generates over 10lbs of bagazo. As a result millions of tonnes of bagazo waste are produced every year and dumped into landfills in rural Mexico. This is devastating to the environment as methanol and acidity from the bagazo seep into the soil, contaminating the land and water with dangerous pollutants. By upcycling the bagazo, we use the agave plant material a second time - to create biodegradable solutions that reduce its negative environmental impact.
Water
Our water system is a closed circuit system, where only evaporated water is refilled. This ensures that no water is wasted.
Energy
Our production process is based on low energy consumption, which allows us to use renewable energies such as solar, wind and hydroelectric power.
Raw materials
Our products are made from the residual material of Tequila production. As a result, each unit created is a sustainable, biodegradable and ecologically-friendly product. Simply put, we use materials that otherwise would be wasted. Further, we do not harvest any one-time use products for any of our production processes.
Our Team
We invest in our people. Besides paying above market wages to the members of our team, we also offer insurance to many of our workers. In addition, we provide our staff with continuous training and development opportunities - as they grow, so do we. We are currently pursuing the Fair Trade designation.
Our Process
Tequila production involves extracting all juices and sugars from the agave plant. The residual fiber that remains is known as the bagazo; and it has become a major environmental problem. Every litre of tequila produced generates over 10lbs of bagazo. As a result millions of tons of bagazo waste are produced every year and dumped into landfills in rural Mexico. This is devastating to the environment as methanol and acidity from the bagazo seep into the soil, contaminating the land and water with dangerous pollutants. By upcycling the bagazo, we use the agave plant material a second time - to create biodegradable solutions that reduce the bagazo’s negative environmental impact.
Developing New Sustainable Products
Our innovation department is focused on creating new and unique agave-fiber based products that meet your needs. Check out some of the new items we are working on here (Link to Innovation collection) Have an idea for us? Please reach out to us: innovation@sustainableagavecompany.com
For wholesale and retail inquiries, please contact:
Sales & Customer Success
lauras@sustainableagavestraws.com
