The Stanley Cups started to rise in popularity last year, but it was only in 2024, when they launched their Valentine´s collection with Target, that they truly became viral. This launch happened at the same time when those videos of people camping and running to get the cups were filmed, which made them even more viral. After that you could see everyone with one, especially those ‘aesthetic’ accounts on TikTok. Therefore, the Stanley Cups were the objectification of the “clean girl” and that’s how it became so successful, by promoting the aesthetic, naturally, people were also promoting the brand.
Accessories
A reusable bottle is expected to be better for the environment than a disposable one, but is it? With the Stanley becoming a trend it led to people buying every color from everywhere they could find, even though all of them serve the same purpose. The cups turned consumption into a form of status and when that became boring, they created the accessories.
Primarily, the use of a bottle is to drink something, right? For some people, it’s not, it’s for taking a snack out of the plastic bag it came into and placing it on a plastic gadget on their reusable bottle, and of course, the water in the cup is poured from a disposable one.
The amount of ‘gadgets’ for the cup grew to a point that people now have Amazon wishlists with Stanley’s ‘must-haves’. In those lists, you can find different types of straws, attachments for dip sauces, straps, snack trade and even a whole purse designed for the cup.
Now, the environmental damage the Stanley Cups are causing isn’t even for the purpose of its creation.
Falsification
With Stanley being a sign of status, many manufacturers ran to create a false and cheaper version of it with the intention of selling a bunch of it. As a result, massive amounts of resources are wasted, from the materials used, to production waste and even the transportation emissions impact directly the environment. Most of these products will most likely end up in a landfill after the hype is over, therefore creating long-lasting trash that’ll take even more time to decompose.
In conclusion
Using what you already own is the most environmentally friendly use of something. Buying a collection of long-lasting plastic for a minimum or no use at all is much more damaging than eventually buying a disposable bottle and recycling it. In the end of the day it is not an item that’ll fit people in or make their lives like the ones on the screen.
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The article above was edited by Rafaella Alcici.
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