question: how come straws have stripes on them?
comment: Due to how straws are manufactured it is very easy to make stripes in the plastic. So if you want any color variation you go with stripes along the straw. Printing a label or something on the straws would be an extra step in the manufacturing process and therefore cost extra money. For bottles they do need to print labels but individual straws does not need any labels. So manufacturers add stripes to their straws to make it a bit more attractive to customers then just a single colored straw. As you mention the stripes could be colored to give a brand identity. But single color straws are still cheaper so some companies do not bother buying straws with stripes.
passages: Here the straw is not plaited, but tied with yarn, wool, raffia or similar. This type of straw work is particularly popular in Scandinavia and German-speaking countries. Examples of these are the Oro (Swedish Straw Crown); the Tomte or Nisse (Yule dwarfs); and smaller versions of the Yule Goat.
  
  Section::::Types.:Ridge finials.
   Straw marquetry
  
  Straw marquetry is a craft very similar to that of wood marquetry, except that straw replaces the wood veneer. It is thought to have first been practised in the East; examples were brought to England in the 17th century.
  
  To mimic the varying shades of wood veneer, wheat or oat straw has to be split, then soaked in cold, warm, or hot water. The strips are then ironed, and there will be a variety of tones from pale gold to deepest dark brown. 
   When a performer is in full makeup they sometimes cannot drink from a cup so they drink from a straw. When the bottle or cup is too deep for the straw a C47 is clipped an inch from the top of the straw to keep the straw from falling into the drink.
  
  Section::::Other uses.:Lutherie.
  
  In Lutherie, clothes-pegs are often used to glue on kerfing during the production of guitars, mandolins, and other stringed instruments.
  
  Section::::Other uses.:Frequency control at radio-control model flying/operation sites.
   After finishing the weaving of the mat, another undyed plain mat is woven and is used to line the back of the main mat. The lining usually extends some two or three inches beyond the border of the main mat which is sewn securely to the backing. This gives it a framed look, and insures durability for the mat.
   Straw plaiting
  
  Straw plaiting is a method of manufacturing textiles by braiding straw and the industry that surrounds the craft of producing these straw manufactures. Straw is plaited to produce products including straw hats and ornaments, and the process is undertaken in a number of locations worldwide.
  
  Section::::Etymology.
  
  To plait comes from late 14c., "to fold, gather in pleats," also "to braid or weave," from Old French pleir "to fold," variant of ploier, ployer "to fold, bend," from Latin plicare "to fold" 
  
  Section::::Applications.
   BULLET::::- Paperbraids: made from different paper strands from Viscose from different Plants (Swiss Paglinastraw), (Silkpaper, Rice paper),
  
  BULLET::::- Sisal/ Parasisal (2x2 woven sisal),
  
  BULLET::::- Seagrass (Xian),
  
  BULLET::::- Visca straw: an artificial straw made by spinning viscose in a flat filament capable of being braided, woven, or knitted and used especially for women's hats,
   Section::::History.:Car coat.
   BULLET::::- Jeremy Fox stood as a candidate for the Silly Party in Dover in the 1979 British general election, as a protest against the National Front. Fox outpolled the National Front candidate by 642 votes to 378.
  
  BULLET::::- The original sketch includes the line, "What do you make of the nylon dog cardigan and plastic mule rest?" These items had been mentioned in "The Goon Show" episode, "Tales of Old Dartmoor" fourteen years prior. The linkman later says, "Thank you Spike," apparently in acknowledgement to "The Goon Show" creator and star Spike Milligan.
  
  Section::::See also.
   Section::::History.:Ryegrass straw.
  
  In the 1800s, the rye grass straw came into fashion because it was cheap and soft, but it had an unfortunate tendency to turn to mush in liquid.
  
  Section::::History.:Wax paper straw.
   Section::::Types.:Countryman's favours and other harvest designs.
  
  A countryman's favour was usually a plait of three straws and tied into a loose knot to represent a heart. It is reputed to have been made by a young man with straws picked up after the harvest and given to his loved one. If she was wearing it next to her heart when he saw her again then he would know that his love was reciprocated. Three straws can be plaited using the hair plait or a cat's foot plait. Favours can be made with two, three, four or more straws.
   Straw hat
  
  A straw hat is a brimmed hat that is woven out of straw or straw-like materials from different plants or synthetics. The hat is designed to protect the head from the sun and against heatstroke, but straw hats are also used in fashion as a decorative element or a uniform.
  
  Section::::Materials.
  
  Commonly used fibers are:
  
  BULLET::::- Wheat straw: (Milan straw, Tuscan, Leghorn),
  
  BULLET::::- Rye straw: used for the traditional "bryl" straw hats popular among the peasants of Belarus, southwestern Russia and Ukraine.
   Traditionally, an Aran jumper is made from undyed cream-coloured "báinín" (pronounced "bawneen"), a yarn made from sheep's wool, sometimes "black-sheep" wool. They were originally made with unwashed wool that still contained natural sheep lanolin, making the garment water-repellent.
   Donkey jacket
  
  A donkey jacket is a medium-length workwear jacket for men, typically made of unlined black or dark blue thick Melton woollen fabric, with the shoulders back and front reinforced and protected from rain with leather or PVC panels.
   BULLET::::- Many thousands of women and children in England (primarily in the Luton district of Bedfordshire), and large numbers in the United States (mostly Massachusetts), were employed in plaiting straw for making hats. By the late 19th century, vast quantities of plaits were being imported to England from Canton in China, and in the United States most of the straw plait was imported.
  
  BULLET::::- A fiber analogous to straw is obtained from the plant "Carludovica palmata", and is used to make Panama hats.
  
  BULLET::::- Traditional Japanese rain protection consisted of a straw hat and a mino cape.
  
  BULLET::::- Horticulture
   BULLET::::- Straw bales are sometimes used for sediment control at construction sites. However, bales are often ineffective in protecting water quality and are maintenance-intensive. For these reasons the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and various state agencies recommend use of alternative sediment control practices where possible, such as silt fences, fiber rolls and geotextiles.
  
  BULLET::::- Burned area emergency response
  
  BULLET::::- Ground cover
  
  BULLET::::- In-stream check dams
  
  BULLET::::- Hats
  
  BULLET::::- There are several styles of straw hats that are made of woven straw.
   Straw painting
  
  Straw paintings are craft objects made by shaping straw into patterns and representational images.
  
  By modeling and playing with straw, people, especially women, started weaving straw into artistic objects. As time passed, they acquired more skill in working with straw and a century ago, created a very specific art, the art of weaving straw into pictures by using and combining the natural colours and shades of oats, barley, rye, wheat, and other grasses. These "paintings" have become a speciality of China, Mexico, and Subotica in Serbia and its vicinity.
  
  Section::::China.
   Right from the start, Goyardine was made with cloth, although its appearance is very similar to leather. Goyard uses three plant fibres: hemp, linen and cotton. Hemp is particularly sought after for its hydrophobic qualities, linen is a fine thermal regulator, and the softness of linen probably caught the attention of the trunk maker.
  
  Section::::Manufacturing of the Goyard canvas: the Goyardine.:The manufacturing process.
   A gussied-up John Deere horse drawn manure spreader, located on display at Canton Power Equipment (46600 Ford Road, Canton, Michigan) in 2012, is shown in the full-colour modern digital photograph.
   The decline in popularity of straw characters in carnival today is thought to be largely due to the difficulty of obtaining straw of suitable length and quality. Modern farmers generally prefer cultivars with shorter straw, or use chemical sprays to make the straw grow shorter so that their crops are less prone to damage by storms. Artificial materials have replaced straw in a few places. In other places, such as Hirschauer, where the "Äschadreppler" is traditionally clad in peastraw, crops are being specially planted to ensure the supply of the appropriate straw for the costumes.
   Corn dolly
  
  Corn dollies or corn mothers are a form of straw work made as part of harvest customs of Europe before mechanization.
   BULLET::::- "Straw mulch" or "field hay" or "salt hay" are lightweight and normally sold in compressed bales. They have an unkempt look and are used in vegetable gardens and as a winter covering. They are biodegradable and neutral in pH. They have good moisture retention and weed controlling properties but also are more likely to be contaminated with weed seeds. Salt hay is less likely to have weed seeds than field hay. Straw mulch is also available in various colors.
  
  Section::::Materials.:Organic mulches.:Cardboard / newspaper.
   Horticulture Netting or Vegetable Support Net
  
  Horticulture Netting or Vegetable Support Net
  
  Section::::Origin.
  
  Starting in the 1960s, in Europe a new rigid mesh and net product made out of polypropylene started being used. The most famous factories were located in England and Italy, given the fact that these two countries where the most advanced in machine tooling and extrusion, then with the passing of time this technology found its way into other parts of the world, and today it is very easy to find who manufactures this type of base product anywhere in the world
  
  Section::::Stretching and Molecular Orientation.
   The districts around Luton in Bedfordshire and the neighbouring counties were, since the beginning of the 17th century, the British home of the straw-plait industry. The straw of certain varieties of wheat cultivated in that region is, in favourable seasons, possessed of a fine bright color and due to tenacity and strength. The straw is cut as in ordinary harvesting, but is allowed to dry in the sun, before binding. Subsequently straws are selected from the sheaves, and of these the pipes of the two upper joints are taken for plaiting. The pipes are assorted into sizes by passing them through graduated openings in a grilled wire frame, and those of good color are bleached by the fumes of sulphur. Spotted and discoloured straws are dyed either in pipe or in plait. The plaiters work up the material in a damp state, either into whole straw or split straw plaits. Split straws are prepared with the aid of a small instrument having a projecting point which enters the straw pipe, and from which radiate the number of knife-edged cutters into which the straw is to be split. The straws were put through a small mangle to flatten them. They were then braided to produce a woven strip which was sold on to the makers of hats, baskets and other wares.
   BULLET::::- Heavy gauge straw rope is coiled and sewn tightly together to make archery targets. This is no longer done entirely by hand, but is partially mechanised. Sometimes a paper or plastic target is set up in front of straw bales, which serve to support the target and provide a safe backdrop.
  
  BULLET::::- Thatching
  
  BULLET::::- Thatching uses straw, reed or similar materials to make a waterproof, lightweight roof with good insulation properties. Straw for this purpose (often wheat straw) is grown specially and harvested using a reaper-binder.
  
  Section::::Health and safety.
   BULLET::::- "Sanitary" straws are individually wrapped to avoid contamination. Straws were originally marketed as a means for people to reduce the risk of contracting an illness from improperly washed containers, glasses, or cups.
  
  BULLET::::- A spoon straw features a cut-away shape at one end that functions as a miniature spoon. It is intended for slush drinks and milkshakes. Their original purpose was to avoid ice clogging up the submerged end of the straw.
  