How Palm Leaf Plates are Made
You may have been wondering (as I was) how our Palm Leaf Plates are actually made. What makes them so environmentally friendly?
As it turns out, the construction of our Palm Leaf Plates is a natural, renewable, and simple process:
1. Freshly fallen, naturally discarded sheaths of the leaves of the Adaka palm tree are collected. To be clear, these are not pulled off the tree, nor are any trees cut down, as this is a non-timber forest resource. The trees naturally shed their old leaves, which are then picked up and put to good use.
2. Each raw sheath is then rinsed with water to remove any clinging dirt. It is then hand washed in a natural mixture of water and turmeric. The leaves are then rinsed a third time in water.
3. Once clean, the palm sheaths naturally air dry.
4. The palm leaves are then hand stretched and flattened. Various plate profiles, including round, square and hexagon-shaped dinner plates, are molded using a heated press. Multiple plates (of differing shapes and sizes) are often cut from each leaf in order to reduce waste.
5. Once clean and cut, each plate is sun-dried and packaged in groups of 25, which is how they’re delivered to you.
In addition to this environmentally conscious production method, these durable palm leaf plates are also completely biodegradable and compostable (after all, they are literally a leaf), making them quite possibly the greenest disposable plates available.
So next time you’re throwing a big event, or just don’t feel like doing the dishes, leave the flimsy paper or forever-in-a-landfill plastic dishes alone and go palm plate instead!
Round dinner plates, rectangular dinner plates, and hexagonal dinner plates are available in addition to bowls, picnic sets, and matching wood utensils.
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Palm Plate Information
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Posted by
Matthew
on
Jun 01, 2009
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Would you post the palm leaf plates to Cape Town where i live?
July 26th, 2009 at 11:40 amSorry durty, but right now we are only able to ship our palm leaf plates to locations within the U.S. and Canada.
Matthew
July 27th, 2009 at 8:03 amAre they one-time-use only, or can they be washed and reused?
January 15th, 2010 at 10:11 amHi Lorna,
The palm leaf plates aren’t really designed to be reused, as they will deteriorate over time. However, they are tough enough that we have had several customers tell us they’ve washed them and reused them a couple times with no problems.
I would definitely recommend a relatively quick but thorough scrub rather than soaking, as leaving them in water for a long time will eventually soften them.
Thank you for your question!
Matthew
January 15th, 2010 at 10:22 amMarxFoods.com
How awesome~! I have a blog where I review products any and all if you would ever like someone to test the product and do a review I am your girl
I just can’t get over how these awesome products are 100% Natureal love it~!
June 2nd, 2010 at 3:27 pmMani says
Areca leaf are called plam leaf. Is it true? Please let me know whether it is reusable. where we can get in U.S.
August 30th, 2010 at 7:57 amMani says
Areca leaf are called plam leaf. Is it true? Please let me know whether it is reusable. where we can get in U.S.and Canada.
August 30th, 2010 at 8:01 amHi Mani,
Yes, these plants are made from areca palm leaves (aka adaka/adakka palm). We’ve actually posted information about using them a second time on our other blog, check out Reusability of Palm Leaf Plates.
Ground shipping anywhere in the continental US is included in the price of the plates. We can also ship them faster or to Alaska, Hawaii, and Canada for an additional fee based on increased shipping/import costs.
Let us know if you have any other questions!
Matthew
August 30th, 2010 at 8:58 amMarxFoods.com