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Knork Flatware is creating a colorful new plant-based line of utensils

By Carrie Rengers

May 3, 2019 5:00 AM

Newton-based Knork Flatware is starting a line of eco-friendly flatware. Courtesy photo

Knork Flatware has had success with ergonomic stainless steel and disposable lines of utensils, but now it’s trying something in between.

“We also had customer demand for something that was a little more sustainable, a little more eco-friendly,” says Sarah Heimerman, spokeswoman for the Newton company.

Bamboo was always an option the company considered, she says, but it didn’t lend itself to “that Knork functionality” because it can’t be molded into the shapes the company uses.

Then she says Knork found a company that mixed bamboo with a type of sugar cane starch to make the utensils.

“It’s really durable.”

The utensils are dishwasher safe, and Heimerman says internal testing shows they hold up to at least 200 washes.

“They’re not meant to last forever by any means.”

Heimerman says the eagerness of one large potential client to obtain samples convinced Knork to start a Kickstarter campaign to raise money for the new molds it has to make for the new flatware line.

The goal was to raise $20,000, and the company is almost to $30,000, which is a mark that Heimerman says she’d like to hit.

There are different levels of rewards supporters receive for donating. That includes the eco-friendly utensils and a carrying case that’s able to hold them and the company’s stainless steel flatware.

“Honestly, you’re kind of like an investor in it,” Heimerman says.

The new forks and spoons will be ready in late June, and the carrying case will be ready in August.

The campaign ends at 8 a.m. Saturday.

“We’re super, super happy for all the support that we’ve got,” Heimerman says. “We have some pretty avid fans, and they definitely helped us along in this.”

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