The Plastic Problem

I felt disgusted and stuck.

The "healthy" lunches delivered to our high-rise startup came packaged in plastic bags, plastic boxes, and plastic lids. We ate them with plastic knives and forks and threw away mountains of plastic daily. That taste got old fast.

Can this really be the healthiest way to eat and live?

There were more little signs of a big problem.

Why does water taste funny after just one day in this plastic bottle?

Can my family buy anything at the supermarket that isn't embalmed in plastic?

Was this a rational concern?

Plastic Food

There's no nice way to put it: our environment is poisoned by plastic.

• BPA and replacements are toxic endocrine disruptors
• Microplastics and plastic additives are toxic
• Microplastics are found in the environment, bottled water, plastic bottles, plastic cups, take-out containers, cookware, honey, and yogurt

This problem is bigger than just food packaging: we don't just eat plastic, we also breathe it in and absorb it. (You might consider replacing your plastic clothes and furnishings with natural fibers.) But plastic containers definitely put chemicals in our food, and disposable plastic is a poor foundation for a sustainable, reusable food economy.

Perhaps the Mayo Clinic said it best:

You can take steps to reduce your exposure... Use glass, porcelain or stainless-steel containers for hot foods and liquids instead of plastic containers.

So how do we do that at scale?

Better Food Containers

We do one thing at Chabro: get good food out of bad plastic and into healthy, reusable, stainless steel containers.

What does that mean in practical terms? Think stainless steel lunchboxes like classic tiffin containers, but vacuum-insulated to preserve food temperature, leakproof to handle liquids, and offered in a variety of sizes for everything from a bit of au jus sauce to a weekend's worth of frozen steaks for an epic camping trip (like a backpack cooler).

We chose high-grade stainless steel because it is:

• food-safe
• dishwasher-safe
• durable
• lightweight
• self-healing
• easy to shape

The world standardized modular shipping containers about sixty years ago. Let's do the same for food.

Imagine this: when you get food delivered from your favorite restaurant, it's healthy takeout because the taste, chemistry, and temperature were protected during transit. Rather than throwing a bunch of plastic in the trash after dinner, you just throw a metal container in the dishwasher. Then you can keep it for your next shopping trip or return it for reuse.

Building that healthy circular economy is our end goal. The first step is making unexpectedly great food containers designed to last a lifetime -- and we want it to be a good long one.

That's the mission, and we hope you join us.