Paper Straw Business Craters After President Trump’s Push for Plastic

May 2025

Boss Straw touts its product as the “best, earth-friendly paper straw in the world.” But since February, sales have plummeted 85% at the paper straw maker in Woodstock. Nearly 14 million paper straws are sitting in limbo at Boss’ warehouse, about 1½ hours from Chicago.

President Donald Trump issued an executive order “to end the use of paper straws” on Feb. 10 and barred federal agencies from procuring them. Following Trump’s mandate, many U.S. distributors have stopped ordering paper straws even for the private sector and reverted to plastic, said Guy Spinelli, founder of Boss Straw.

“If it keeps up the way it is, [Trump] will drive me out of business by the end of this year,” said Spinelli. “It would be the end of the story.”

Full story in Chicago Sun-Times