If you’ve been on TikTok or X in the last year, you’ve probably heard about Stanley Cups. Their pink Starbucks collab cup was sold in Target stores for Valentine’s Day, and people camped out outside stores for a chance to nab one. The fervor has led to alternatives circulating online, and users sharing their Stanley Cup accessories and collections. And — as with any trend on the internet — there’s been a fair amount of backlash, too. Some TikTok and X users have been calling the Stanley Cup trend an overconsumption problem, and honestly? They might have a point. Her Campus reached out to Stanley and parent company PMI for comment, but did not hear back by the time of publication.
The criticism around the trend doesn’t have much to do with the actual cup itself — it is cute, and based on user anecdotes, it seems to work as intended, keeping your cold drinks cold and hot drinks hot. But… the Hydroflask, which had its heyday in the late 2010s, was also cute and functional. Same for the S’well bottle of the mid-2010s (as someone who hopped on that trend in 2018, my trusty S’well continues to perform six years later). Therein lies the issue for many users: Do any of us need to collect multiple reusable water bottles? Especially ones that retail for around $45?
You may remember this lesson on eco-friendliness from sixth-grade science class: Reduce, reuse, recycle. But reducing, according to The Guardian, is the most vital of the three for our long-term carbon footprint. Reusable water bottles do help us reduce our plastic use, but as TikToker @webravelygo points out, the culture around buying Stanley Cups or any trendy reusable water bottle doesn’t really mesh with the concept of wasting less. “Ostensibly, we should be buying one of these things and then using it for the next 20 years,” the creator says in a viral video. “They market themselves as reusable, as good for the environment. They’ve globbed on to the sustainability conversation, but fundamentally, by having a hot new cup every six months … the problem still exists. We’re still buying too much stuff.”
A large part of the appeal of the Stanley Cup on TikTok, specifically, is seeing a collection of multiple in different soothing and aesthetically-pleasing colors, according to Vox. But if you’re only going to need one reusable water bottle for your day-to-day hydration, the critics are saying, why buy 30? Doesn’t that defeat the point of them helping you cut down on your consumption?
This criticism isn’t without criticism of its own, however. Some users have pushed back against derision toward the shoppers collecting Stanley Cups, pointing out that most of the people receiving the mocking are women. It’s no secret that women’s interests are routinely demeaned (see: the belitting of fangirls who are called “crazy” for being excited at concert venues), and 2023 marked a shift toward reclaiming girlhood without shame. “There’s a tad bit of misogyny with this stanley cup conversation. women find something cute and interesting and now all of a sudden we getting think pieces,” one X user wrote. Another said, “The Stanley cup hate does not surprise me cause any time a large group of women like something other people have to tear it down. They hate seeing women enjoy things.”
Still, some have made the point that regardless of gender, we should all be thoughtful about how we contribute to consumerist culture and its effect on the environment — nobody is exempt from that. Considering Gen Z’s climate anxiety and the effect of microtrends on the environment, it’s perhaps unsurprising that this has become a major sticking point for many.
Ultimately, how you spend your money and the items you have in your home is up to you, whether you have 30 Stanley Cups or zero. Being excited to buy a reusable water bottle is not a crime, and anyone who calls you “crazy” for it is acting in bad faith. Still, it might not be the worst thing ever to do a check with yourself before hitting purchase: Do you still have that Hydroflask you begged your mom for in high school (or the S’well before that, or the Nalgene before that)? Unless you’re planning on drinking from that Stanley every day even when it stops trending, it might be time to consider pulling out your old reliable instead.