The Voice – brought to you by The Page & Epistle

By Maddie Lamoureux ’25

Collectively, Americans purchase around 50 billion single-use water bottles each year. Facing such daunting numbers, the desire for a sustainable alternative that can also keep your beverage cool has become more in demand than ever before. Past years have seen the popularization of many reusable drinkware brands, with the most recent obsession among them being the Stanley. One would think that with all the new sustainable water bottles available on the market, the issue of overconsumption would be decreasing. Yet the constant cycling of trendy sustainable drinkware may be exacerbating the problem.

Many social media users are well-acquainted with the popularity of the Stanley cup.  This modern-day fad got its start over a century ago. Founded in 1913, the Stanley cup was originally marketed for its durable design in outdoorsy settings and was even used by pilots in WWII. It was not until recently that the Stanley quencher underwent a dramatic change from a rugged style to a cutesy tumbler attracting mainly millennial women and gen-z teens.

Stanley’s drastic change in style and audience is due to the combination of both “women to women marketing” and, TikTok.  Social media influencers are one of the key ingredients to the mass popularity of not only Stanley, but many other sustainable drinkware brands as well including Swell, Nalgene, Hydro flask, and more.  Many reusable water-bottle brands have been just a flash in the pan, in part because of the impact social media has had through trend cycling.

With so many TikTok users consumed by curated aesthetics, trends are cycling faster than ever: trends in sustainable drinkware reflect this phenomenon. Recall the times of the VSCO girl, which embodied the scrunchie-loving ultimate “basic” girl of 2019. The VSCO girl was heavily affixed to the Hydro flask. Before the Hydro flask was the Nalgene, the ultimate water bottle for “granola” girls. These water bottles have shown a decline in sales as the new Stanley quencher has risen in popularity. Rather than the previous sticker bombarded bottles, the sleek design of Stanley tumblers reflects the current “that girl” or “clean girl” aesthetic.

A large part of Stanley’s success is due to their strategic marketing. While other water bottle brands achieved market share more organically through social media, spreading the word-of-mouth, creating a ripple effect, Stanley was more deliberate in their tactics. Three women bloggers responsible for an e-commerce site, The Buy Guide, started promoting the Stanley in 2017 after having positive experiences with the quencher. Following the mass success The Buy Guide’s reviews brought to sales, Stanley eventually brought the women on board to their affiliate network. The rebranding of Stanley “speaks to the power of women selling to women,” said Taylor Cannon, a main blogger on The Buy Guide. Like any trendy product, its quick rise in popularity is due to TikTok, and here is where some problems arise.

Social media tends to encourage overconsumption by taking a small trend and blowing it out of proportion. Instead of buying one Stanley cup, many feel the need to buy every color and every special edition launch. Short-form content makes it possible to share tons of products in small periods of time: hence TikTok’s ability to make a sustainable product unsustainable, leading one to wonder if reusable drinkware fads are more harmful than good.

You may remember begging your mom for a Hydro flask in 2019, not because a metal water bottle was some groundbreaking invention, but because everyone else had it. At its core, it was a status symbol. Now that the Stanley cup has dethroned its predecessors, many are ditching their perfectly fine Hydro flask for the new trendy thing.

This is not to say that it is a problem to own a Stanley or any reusable tumbler for that matter. In fact, when purchased in moderation, they can help reduce plastic waste. The key word though, is moderation. If you haven’t bought a Stanley yet but are tempted to, just make sure it’s because of your own need rather than some outward pressure. If you already have one but find yourself tempted by a restock or new special edition designs, try to first look at the Stanley you already own. Ask yourself this: Does it keep the water cold? Is its straw still intact? Is it rust-free and clear of any impairing defects? If you answered yes to these questions, then you may want to reevaluate your purchase. Save your $40 while simultaneously saying no to overconsumption. A little change can benefit both your pocket and the environment around you- basically, it’s a win-win.