Flavor, Tech, and a Packed House: Our Earth Day Takeover at The Grant

Sustainability usually gets a reputation for being "boring"—until you see it in the middle of a packed bar on a Wednesday night.

This past Earth Day (April 22nd), the Corn Next team took over The Grant to prove that eco-friendly innovation doesn't have to be a compromise. The result? A wall-to-wall crowd, electric energy, and a whole lot of people finally ditching soggy paper for something better.

The Scene

From the moment service started, the buzz was centered on the bar. Guests weren't just ordering drinks; they were asking about the tech in their hands. It was a pleasure to have Michael, the owner of The Grant, join us for the festivities. His commitment to bringing new, community-focused experiences to the neighborhood is what made this collaboration such a natural fit.

The "Expert" Behind the Bar

If you’ve been to The Grant, you know Danny. He was our lead ambassador for the night, managing a high-volume rush while educating every guest on the science behind our straws. Whether he was pairing a Classic straw with a signature cocktail or adding a zesty punch with our Lemon variety, Danny made sure every guest knew they were sipping on the future of sustainable tech.

The "While Supplies Last" Warning

We know not everyone could make it out for the mid-week celebration, but we didn’t want you to miss out entirely. Before we headed out, we stocked the bar with a fresh supply of Corn Next straws.

They are available at The Grant right now, but only until they run out. Next time you’re in, ask Danny for a Corn Next straw with your order. We want you to feel the difference for yourself—no melting, no sogginess, just a perfectly held drink from the first sip to the last.

Why It Matters

Seeing the local community engage so deeply with what we’re building at Corn Next was the best Earth Day gift we could ask for. It’s one thing to talk about innovation; it’s another to see it held in a hundred hands at once.

Thanks to the team at The Grant and everyone who came out to make the night a success. Stay tuned—this is just the beginning. 

Earth Day 2026: The 60x40 Goal and Why Microplastics Are the Next Frontier

As the sun rises on Earth Day 2026, the global environmental movement has found its most defiant rallying cry yet: "Our Power, Our Planet." This year’s theme is a direct call to civic action—a reminder that real change no longer waits for good-faith negotiations alone. While world leaders continue to navigate the deadlock of the Global Plastics Treaty talks, the 60x40 initiative has become the baseline for our survival. This movement demands a 60% reduction in plastic production by 2040.

For decades, we were told the solution to our plastic crisis lived in our blue recycling bins. However, as we stand here in 2026, the math has failed us. With 95% of plastic in the U.S. still evading the recycling stream—and more plastic produced in the last ten years than the entire 20th century—we have reached a breaking point. We are officially moving past waste management and into the era of production elimination.

The urgency is no longer just about the health of our oceans; it is now about the health of our bodies. Research published in 2026 confirms that microplastics have transitioned from an environmental blight to a biological one—now detected in 80% of human blood samples. These "forever particles" shed from our synthetic clothing and leach from traditional packaging into our food. In 2026, we are finally facing a hard truth: we haven't just polluted the planet—we have become the product itself.

This is where the mission at CornNext meets the global moment. We believe that true sustainability is not just about the absence of waste; instead, it is about the presence of better design. The 60x40 goal is only achievable if we provide a bridge from the petroleum-dependent past to a bio-innovative future. By championing material innovation, we are proving that plant-based, truly compostable solutions are the only viable path to 2040. We do not just need to use less—we need to design better.

The weight of this transition lives in our collective choices. To win the battle of Planet vs. Plastics in 2026, we must adopt a new set of standards. Here is how we navigate the 5 R’s of a plastic-free future:

• Refuse: Exercise your power as a consumer by saying "no" to things you don't need—like plastic straws, single-use cutlery, and excess packaging—before they ever enter your home.

• Reduce: Use less and cut back on consumption. By selecting products with minimal packaging and buying only what is necessary, we conserve resources and generate less garbage.

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• Reuse: Extend the life of your belongings by choosing durable, high-quality alternatives—like metal water bottles and cloth bags—instead of disposables that feed a throw-away culture.

• Repurpose: Get creative and find new uses for items that have outlived their original purpose—often called upcycling—to keep waste out of landfills and give materials a second life.

• Recycle: As the final step in the hierarchy, ensure that any remaining waste is sorted correctly. While we strive for production elimination, recycling ensures that the plastic we do use is processed into something new rather than left to pollute.

The 60x40 goal is a challenge to our ingenuity. This Earth Day, let's use Our Power to ensure our legacy is the nature we preserved—not the plastic we left behind.

The Plastic Detox: Can We Actually Purge Our Lives of Microplastics?

If you’ve logged into Netflix lately, you’ve likely seen the trending documentary, "The Plastic Detox." Released on March 16th, it follows six couples struggling with unexplained infertility as they undergo a grueling 90-day challenge: removing every trace of plastic and endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) from their daily lives.

The results were startling. Guided by Dr. Shanna Swan, a leading reproductive epidemiologist, the participants swapped plastic containers for glass and synthetic fibers for natural ones. By the end of the experiment, they saw a significant drop in the chemical levels in their bodies—and some even achieved the pregnancies they had been dreaming of for years.

But for many viewers, the film left behind a lingering question: In a world made of plastic, is a total detox even possible for the rest of us?

The Problem: It’s Not Just "Trash" — It’s Our Health

The documentary highlights that we aren't just "using" plastic; we are absorbing it. Microplastics—tiny fragments that break off from larger pieces—and chemicals like Phthalates (which make plastic flexible) and Bisphenols/BPA (which make it hard) are everywhere.

According to Dr. Swan, these chemicals are "endocrine disruptors" that mimic our hormones, interfering with everything from fertility to immune function. As the film reveals, our skin can absorb more than 60% of the chemicals it touches, and heat—like microwaving a plastic container—causes these toxins to leach directly into our food.

The "Whack-a-Mole" Trap

For the average person, "detoxing" feels impossible because most "alternatives" aren't actually clean. The Netflix Tudum feature points out a frustrating reality Dr. Swan calls "whack-a-mole": when manufacturers remove BPA, they often replace it with another bisphenol that carries the same risks. Even many "bioplastics" (like PLA) still require industrial composting and can leave behind synthetic residues that don't truly disappear.

The Solution: A True Detox with CornNext-17

At Corn Next, we watched "The Plastic Detox" with a sense of urgency. The film proves that reducing exposure works—but it also shows how hard it is to find products that are truly safe and don't just "hide" the plastic.

This is why we created CornNext-17. We didn't want to just make another "eco-friendly" plastic; we wanted to eliminate the plastic altogether.

• Zero Microplastics & Chemicals: Unlike traditional bioplastics that just break into smaller, invisible pieces, our material is made from just three natural ingredients: corn starch, water, and natural enzymes. There are no Phthalates, no Bisphenols, and no "forever chemicals" (PFAS).

• No Chemical Residue: Because we don't use the synthetic polymers or fillers mentioned in the documentary, there are no endocrine disruptors to worry about. It is 100% food-grade and non-toxic—safe for you and your family.

• Back to Nature in as little as 30 Days: The documentary shows how it takes a full 90 days to see biological improvements in the human body. At Corn Next, we’ve engineered our materials to move even faster than that. While traditional "compostable" plastics can take months to break down, Corn Next products are designed to fully biodegrade in any natural environment—soil or water—in as little as 30 days. It is a clean cycle that restores the earth faster than a single human detox cycle.

The Takeaway

"The Plastic Detox" is a wake-up call, but as Dr. Swan mentions, we don't have to wait for government regulation to protect ourselves. We can choose better products today.

A plastic-free life doesn't have to mean moving to the woods; it starts with making smart swaps in your kitchen and daily routine. By switching to truly bio-based alternatives like Corn Next, you aren't just saving the ocean—you're protecting your own biology.

Ready to start your own detox? Check out our latest plastic-free, microplastic-free innovations at CornNext.com.

The Future of Materials is Compatible with Life

Plastic was designed to be durable, but the human body was not.

A recent study in Nature Medicine reported a reality that should make us all stop and think. Researchers found microplastics and nanoplastics in human organs, including the liver, kidneys, and even the brain. The most common material they found was Polyethylene. This is the exact same plastic used in everyday packaging and disposable products.

What is even more striking is that concentrations are higher in more recent samples. This reflects how quickly plastic is accumulating in our environment and, eventually, within ourselves. This discovery changes the conversation entirely. Plastic pollution is no longer just about our oceans or landfills. It is about whether our materials are actually compatible with life itself.

The Fundamental Mismatch

For decades, the industry focused on making plastic stronger, cheaper, and more durable. But when you use a "permanent" material for a product that is only used for a few minutes, you create a fundamental mismatch with nature.

At Corn Next, we experienced this mismatch firsthand. Last year, our team designed a powder scoop using our CornNext-17 material. It looked perfect on paper, but it kept failing fatigue tests. At first, we questioned the material and asked if the corn was simply not strong enough.

After months of testing, we realized the problem was not the material. It was our mindset. We were trying to design a natural material using "plastics thinking." This is a logic built for synthetic chemicals, not for nature. Our CEO made a firm decision late last year that we had to abandon the old rules. We went back to basics and redesigned the product to work with the natural properties of CornNext-17 rather than against them. This time, it passed every test. It proved that you cannot build the future using old rules.

Re-engineering Nature: The 2-Micron Breakthrough

Our journey began with a simple vision: materials that come from the earth and can safely return to the earth. However, we believe the future of material science is not just about swapping one product for another. It is about re-engineering the polymers themselves.

After years of research and development, our team is thrilled to share a massive milestone. We have successfully milled our CornNext-17 material into an ultra-fine, 2-micron powder. Even more exciting is that we have achieved stable cationization.

For those outside the lab, this matters because it transforms our material from a "plastic replacement" for items like straws into a versatile, bio-based functional polymer. This breakthrough allows us to enter high-value industrial sectors that have relied on petrochemicals for decades. We are now positioning our corn-based technology to perform in:

• Paper and board manufacturing

• Textile and fiber processing

• Advanced coatings and adhesives

• Water treatment and filtration

A Greener Future for Industry

The materials we choose do not just disappear. They accumulate in our world, and ultimately, they accumulate in us. Today, our vision is expanding from simple molded items into the very fabric of modern industry. We are harnessing nature’s sophisticated molecular architecture and enhancing it through smart science to meet industrial needs without harming the planet.

The future of industrial polymers is greener than we ever thought possible. If you are working in functional coatings, paper chemicals, or sustainable R&D, we want to connect. The shift starts at the source, and we are ready to build a future that is finally compatible with life.

Eight Years of Learning: From Corn Starch to Corn Next

People usually share the finished product, the polished version, or the success story. Today, we want to share something different.

What you see in these photos are not perfect products. They are rough, broken, incomplete, and not yet usable. But they represent the most important milestones of the past eight years.

Our journey began in 2018 with the first solid tube made from pure corn starch. For the first time, we were able to turn corn starch into a solid, self-supporting form. It was fragile and unstable, far from practical use, but it proved something critical. Corn starch, without chemical modification, could become a structural material. That single breakthrough told us this journey was worth continuing.

From there, the work became slower and more complex. We moved from tubes to strips, learning how the material truly behaves under different conditions. These early samples may look insignificant, but each one represents countless failed attempts. We struggled with flow control, moisture balance, temperature limits, and repeated structural collapse. At times, the material would simply disappear inside the equipment. Progress only came when we stopped trying to force outcomes and began learning how to work with the material on its own terms.

Our first attempt at injection molding marked another important turning point. The result was a broken, incomplete knife, unusable by any standard. Yet it proved something bigger. The material could enter real industrial manufacturing systems. Not perfectly, and not without failure, but realistically. This moment shifted our work from pure experimentation toward real-world feasibility.

When the first cup was successfully formed, something changed again. We were no longer focused only on material behavior. We were beginning to think in terms of function. A container with a clear purpose made the work tangible, not just for us, but for anyone who could see it. It marked the transition from material research to practical application.

We also explored 3D printing, not as a production method, but as a way to further understand the material itself. The goal was never efficiency. It was learning. We needed to know whether the material could hold its form across different manufacturing processes. The answer was yes, but only through continued iteration and adjustment.

The first spoon followed. It was incomplete and far from refined, but it represented a crucial moment. For the first time, Corn Next began to resemble tableware rather than a laboratory sample. At that point, it became clear that this work had moved beyond research alone.

Eight years into this journey, we can say there were no shortcuts. We encountered faster and easier paths many times, but chose not to take them. We believe deeply that natural materials should not be forced to imitate plastic. They deserve to be treated as an entirely new material category, with their own properties, limitations, and possibilities.

True innovation is rarely the result of a single breakthrough. It is built through the accumulation of many imperfect steps, repeated failures, and hard-earned lessons.

Today, Corn Next has moved far beyond these early stages, but we keep every one of these samples. They remind us why we started, what we refused to compromise, and what we chose to protect. Every small step matters. Every failure leaves a trace forward.

This is how real materials are born.

Each milestone reached in 2025 reflects steady momentum built through real use, real partnerships, and collective choice.

As Corn Next moves into 2026, our products, including straws, powder scoops, and cutlery, will begin scaling across foodservice, institutional, and consumer channels. At scale, impact is no longer incremental. It multiplies.

This is why we believe the future of materials is not about better plastics, but about reconnecting materials with natural cycles. Materials designed to perform in daily life and designed to return responsibly.

From the earth.
For daily life.
Back to the earth.

Thank you for being part of the Corn Next journey.

The holiday season is a time to reflect on what truly brings warmth and meaning. Beyond celebration, it comes from shared values, trusted partnerships, and a commitment to doing things the right way.

At Corn Next, we are deeply grateful for everyone who continues this journey with us. Together with our partners, collaborators, and community, we are building natural materials, reducing waste, and working toward a more responsible future.

As the year comes to a close, we want to thank everyone who has supported our mission and believed in the importance of better materials. Your trust and collaboration make progress possible.

We wish you a restful and joyful holiday season, and we look forward to continuing this work together in the year ahead.

From nature, Back to nature.
Corn Next Team

Billions of Plastic Powder Scoops Go Unnoticed Every Year

Each year, an estimated 4 billion dry powder scoops are used globally, yet the average recycling rate is only 9 percent.

When we talk about plastic pollution, bottles, bags, and packaging often come to mind. Far less attention is paid to dry powder scoops, even though they appear in billions of households every year through products such as infant formula, protein powders, nutritional supplements, and laundry detergent.

Individually, a single scoop seems insignificant. At scale, however, the environmental impact is substantial. Due to their small size, most plastic powder scoops are not effectively recycled. Even in regions with advanced waste management systems, small items frequently escape sorting processes and end up in landfills, incineration, or the natural environment.

This challenge does not require consumers to change their behavior. It is fundamentally a materials design issue.

At Corn Next, we believe better materials can solve this problem at the source. Corn Next-17 is a natural material derived from corn starch through an enzymatic process. It is not traditional plastic and does not leave persistent plastic fragments at the end of its lifecycle.

By replacing plastic powder scoops with natural materials, plastic waste can be reduced quietly, continuously, and at scale. Sometimes meaningful sustainability progress does not come from sweeping changes, but from rethinking small, overlooked objects that appear billions of times each year.

In an age where climate change headlines dominate and consumers are increasingly mindful of their choices, sustainability isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a demand. Retailers and wholesalers are adapting swiftly to this shift, as Millennials and Gen Z drive the global push toward eco-conscious living. At Corn Next, we’ve seen firsthand how aligning with sustainability resonates with these influential demographics. Let’s explore how eco-friendly products like ours not only benefit the planet but also help businesses thrive.

The Rise of Eco-Conscious Consumers

Millennials and Gen Z make up the largest consumer groups in today’s market, with a combined purchasing power that continues to grow. What sets these groups apart is their emphasis on values-driven spending. According to Nielsen, 75% of Millennials and 72% of Gen Z are willing to pay more for sustainable products. These generations prioritize brands that reflect their values, from environmental responsibility to ethical sourcing.

For retailers and wholesalers, this isn’t just an opportunity; it’s a call to action. Stocking products that align with sustainability goals doesn’t only attract these customers but it also builds loyalty and drives long-term growth.

In the battle against plastic pollution, bioplastics have often been heralded as a better alternative to traditional plastics made from petroleum. But, as with most things in life, the solution is rarely as simple as it first appears. In reality, while bioplastics certainly offer advantages over their plastic counterparts, they don’t always fulfill the promises of sustainability. Enter CornNext-17, a revolutionary material that takes eco-friendliness to the next level. But how exactly does CornNext-17 stack up against bio-plastics, and why is it the next-generation solution we need to solve the plastic crisis?

The Promise and Limitations of Traditional Bio-Plastics

Bio-plastics are derived from renewable plant-based materials such as corn, sugarcane, and even algae, which make them a step in the right direction from traditional plastics. While they may seem like the perfect solution to replace harmful petroleum-based plastics, bio-plastics still have significant drawbacks.

The Degradation Dilemma

One of the key issues with traditional bio-plastics is their degradation process. While bio-plastics are often marketed as “biodegradable,” many still require industrial composting facilities to break down properly. And even in these facilities, they often take months or even years to degrade. This means that, in the real world—where industrial composting facilities are not available in every community—these materials might not break down as quickly as we need them to. Instead, they may end up in landfills, rivers, or oceans, contributing to pollution and microplastics in our ecosystems.