Title: Starbucks’ Newest Promotion
Author: Maddie Perlman-Gabel
Publication: Environmental News Network
Starbucks is the most popular coffee chain in the United States, with 11 000+ stores in the country alone. As such, they pollute a whole lot, a part of the pollution coming from their cups - over 4 billion are made and thrown away each year.
Because of this, they decided to start selling reusable coffee cups for a dollar. The costumers who come with those would get a discount and their cups would be cleaned by the Starbucks staff. Their [Starbucks'] ultimate goal is to serve 5% of all drinks they make this way.
The idea of giving discount to people who bring their own cups existed since 1985, and this is just a step ahead. The percentage of people who use reusable cups has increased by 55% in the last 3 years.
Naturally, cups are only a small part of the Starbucks carbon footprint. However, this kind of activism is the type that the general public will notice the most and it will consequently bring the company positive publicity. This is not to say that they are not trying to help the environment in other ways as well - by using less water and energy, and using better materials to create their disposable cups. Of course, the main reason why they are doing all that is personal gain, as changes in the environment are likely to impact the growth of coffee beans, but it is still praise-worthy nonetheless.
I got interested in the idea so I did additional research, and if anyone is interested in the way the new reusable coffee cups were accepted, as well as the way they are viewed by the public, this article answers those questions.
Author: Maddie Perlman-Gabel
Publication: Environmental News Network
Starbucks is the most popular coffee chain in the United States, with 11 000+ stores in the country alone. As such, they pollute a whole lot, a part of the pollution coming from their cups - over 4 billion are made and thrown away each year.
The idea of giving discount to people who bring their own cups existed since 1985, and this is just a step ahead. The percentage of people who use reusable cups has increased by 55% in the last 3 years.
Naturally, cups are only a small part of the Starbucks carbon footprint. However, this kind of activism is the type that the general public will notice the most and it will consequently bring the company positive publicity. This is not to say that they are not trying to help the environment in other ways as well - by using less water and energy, and using better materials to create their disposable cups. Of course, the main reason why they are doing all that is personal gain, as changes in the environment are likely to impact the growth of coffee beans, but it is still praise-worthy nonetheless.
I got interested in the idea so I did additional research, and if anyone is interested in the way the new reusable coffee cups were accepted, as well as the way they are viewed by the public, this article answers those questions.
I absolutely love starbucks and it's funny you wrote about this because I was just thinking about how much garbage and paper cups are thrown away so often. I bought one of these cups this winter! :) Every little bit helps.
ReplyDeleteI agree! I wish we could have that here as well, even though I don't buy takeaway coffee, but it would be nice for people who do.
ReplyDelete