KeepCup

14 Feb 2013 in Commentary / 1 Comment

We sometimes get asked whether we will do a 20oz, 24oz or shudder, 31oz KeepCups.
We will not. 

Obesity will kill more people than starvation in 2013, the inequity of this, the burden on the health system and the effect on individuals and their families is catastrophic.

The “Trenta” holds 916ml of liquid, the average stomach holds about 1000ml of food. 

From March 2014 calorie rich drinks served in vessels larger than 16oz will be banned in New York city.  Reducing portion sizes does not fix the problem, but it tells us there is a problem. Who takes responsibility?

The global obesity epidemic tells us we need some help.  It links strongly to the sustainability movement. At organization level responsibility must be taken, not just for what happens within the four walls of HQ, but right through our supply chains and the foreseeable consequences for our customers.

Actions have consequences. And as Stanley Milgram observed in the controversial 1960’s Milgram experiments, it is not so much the kind of person you are, as the kind of situation in which you find yourself that determines how you will act.

At KeepCup we believe 16oz is enough. 

Still thirsty? Go to the tap and have a drink.

28 Jan 2013 in Commentary / 1 Comment

 At KeepCup we endeavour to strike a positive note, believing that being inclusive is the best way to engage people.  It was in that spirit that I looked at Starbucks introduction of the $1 Starbucks reusable.

Since that post I read Greenwash; Big Brands and Carbon Scams by Guy Pearse and discovered the Starbucks reusable only lasts 30 washes and will melt in the dishwasher.  How can a cup that lasts 30 washes be considered reusable?
The “recyclable polypropylene” that these new cups are made from does not account for the fact that in the US, domestic recycling of plastic is extremely uncommon.  At $1 per cup and 20 uses, Starbucks has just made reusables disposable, and got its customers to pay it for the discount it provides.
This is just wrong. As Guy Pearse demonstrates over and over again,
In practice, ‘leadership on climate change’ doesn’t necessarily mean reducing a company’s current contribution to the problem – it means being noticeably greener than the competition and being perceived to be taking the big steps. It’s not [that they] can’t take the big steps, but that it makes better commercial sense not to until government policy forces their whole sector to move together.  The role of greenwash is to stop these truths bubbling to the surface.
This policy comes on the back of a reduction of the goal of serving beverages in reusables from 25% by 2015 to 5%.  20% of Starbucks beverages are consumed in house.  If Starbucks provided standard reusable crockery for “in house” consumption it could reach its 20% reuse rate overnight, diverting over 750,000,000 disposables from landfill every year.  This would really send a signal about reuse and environmental responsibility.

12 Jan 2013 in Commentary / 0 Comments

Starbucks has just globally launched a $1 reusable cup in an effort to get more of its customers reusing.  Leaving aside the product itself and whether price is the primary motivator when you are paying $4 for a coffee, the global publicity given to the campaign and the message it sends to Starbucks customers, staff and the wider community is powerful.  This move by Starbucks is a response to change in consumer sentiment about what behaviour is acceptable.  Fingers crossed, it foreshadows big changes in the Starbucks service model.

A little while ago I went into a small independent café on Brunswick St with my KeepCup and the girl behind the machine said enthusiastically, “Good on you”.  It really made me feel good, and reminded me once again that having your behaviour accepted, and better still endorsed, really helps you keep the habit and remember your reusable.

With over one million disposable cups discarded to landfill every second, we all need to rally to change our behaviour from discard, to reduce and reuse.  

The best reusable is the one you use.  

22 Feb 2012 in Commentary / 0 Comments

Its all about video this month.

The inspiring and really beautiful magazine Dumbo Feather have added video to their stories.

The lovely Marc Whiteway filmed myself, Bess and Clarence on a trip to the delicious and light filled Two:Bob cafe in Fitzroy North and then down to work for a mock meeting. 

.. and then the Chokito story - not sure who sounds crazier myself or Jamie.

24 Oct 2011 in Commentary / 1 Comment

A monument to the disposable cup, we're not sure this monolith would still be considered a great idea.  A twenty metre high disposable cup made from poured concrete.  A symbol of wastefulness and ugliness.  Found in Riverside, California, USA.

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