Intersections of Marketing, Economics, Environmentalism...and Coffee?

One of my favorite movies, You've Got Mail, has a great quote regarding Starbucks. Sure, the technology they use throughout the move is outmoded. Who has to listen to the whir and chips of dial-up? Let alone actually hear the three words of the title? Nonetheless, the character Joe Fox's attitude towards Starbucks is hilarious:

So people who don't know what the hell they're doing or who on earth they are can, for only $2.95, get not just a cup of coffee but an absolutely defining sense of self: Tall. Decaf. Cappuccino.

Recently, however, Starbucks has been trying to seriously change their image. And in the process bring about more eco-friendly changes. In an article in the Chicago Tribune today, Melissa Allison writes about the company's plan to convert their paper cups into napkins for their stores. While their current napkins do list their post-consumer recycled content, this move will hopefully produce larger changes. With 3 billion paper cups per year, the company can keep the recycling internal to produce other needed products.

Other critiques however also need to be appeased. For example, the article discusses how recycling efforts may be blocked because of the lack of markets for paper products. Starbucks wants to step up demand through its paper napkin project.

What the article doesn't mention however, is what will happen to the 1 billion used plastic cups. These are made from #5 plastics, which can be difficult to find recycling centers for in some communities around the country (see this website for more info). These issues make the importance of reusing very evident! When grabbing some coffee, bring a reusable mug if possible. If you forget (and let's be real, it can be so easy to!), ask the barista/o for a house ceramic mug. This is an option that many people may forget about! Although they may not be available at all times throughout the day/ at all locations, using a ceramic mug will cut down on waste. Even though the paper cups will be recycled in greater numbers, producing less waste will still be better for the environment.

Through this example we can see how paper clearly trumps styrofoam! Paper can be turned into useful products, but this is not possible for styrofoam. Luckily, Starbucks is currently using paper cups and not styrofoam ones or these changes obviously wouldn't be possible.

You can read the full article--> here.