It’s sort of like seeing a fingerprint in a handmade ceramic mug. Toolmarks tell the story of its manufacture, and while the tools utilized here are new, the process is the same. You take wet clay from the earth, dry it, grind it into powder, then reintroduce water until it achieves the consistency you’re looking for. Then you shape it, glaze it, and fire it. There are more than 3 million potters in India who make wares like the kulhars and bhars that inspired GaeaStar’s cup, continuing local traditions that go back thousands of years. Paper and plastic cups have endangered the livelihoods of these potters, but there have been efforts at the local and state levels to encourage the use of traditional clay vessels instead of the cheaper, more environmentally troublesome alternatives. Sourcing the Clay In Seattle, I see public trash cans stuffed full of paper cups and feel guilt every time I have a paper cup sitting on my desk. But are GaeaStar’s clay cups better for the environment than disposable paper cups? …