The Stanley cup craze has become society’s latest symbol of overconsumption. Companies are capitalizing off of our willingness to splurge on whatever is trendy at the moment. This didn’t start nor will it end with the Stanley cup, but there’s something funny about overconsuming a product that is meant to prevent waste. 

     The whole point of having a reusable water bottle is to limit the use of plastic bottles, so why do we feel the need to buy so many? This hasn’t just happened with Stanley cups. I remember when Starbucks came out with the reusable venti cup, so we could use less plastic and reduce waste. I had one that I used twice, took a cute picture of, then never used again. I also fell victim to the Hydro flask and Yeti trend. 

     So why do we insist on going green just to toss it aside once the next trend cycle comes around? Buying reusable water bottles over and over again defeats the whole purpose of them being reusable. Yes, it’s better to have several of these bottles rather than using plastic, but when consumers over consume a product, companies are just going to keep mass producing it, which is no good for the environment either. 

     I’ve seen people on TikTok pouring water from their plastic bottles into their Stanley cups, which is obviously an abomination. People are also proudly displaying them in colorful rows on Tiktok, matching their Stanley to their outfit, and going crazy in the stores for the limited edition ones. I have to laugh at the videos of people going crazy in the stores over the Valentines day Stanley and the Stanley x Starbucks collab. I mean come on people, it’s just a water bottle. It’s made of stainless steel and holds liquid just like any other bottle does. 

     The Stanley cup has sort of become a fashion accessory and sometimes even a status symbol. Companies know this and are taking advantage of how dumb we are. So wash your emotional support water bottle and keep using it!