Comments on: Starbucks Eco-frustration

By: frodo

frodo — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 19:01:41 +0000

The funny thing about this, is that in a place like 7-11 (a convenience store for those of you who aren’t familiar) you can go in and buy a reusable container, and go in every day and get a fill-up. They have metal containers and plastic ones. Plastic isn’t so bad in this regard, as you’re not throwing it away. You can use it for quite a long time. Not to mention the coffee is FAR less expensive than starbucks (though not quite as pretentious and foofie, but who really cares?)

By: XT Jade

XT Jade — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 05:16:45 +0000

A little over a year ago I got a travel mug for my friend and I. It’s spill proof so I can toss it in my bag and go. It has been at least 8 Months since I left home without it. I am Earth conscious, but not as much as I could be ( still working on it). This has been one of the easiest and best little changes I have made.

On my usual I hit the coffee shops or coffee bar 2 times to fillup with hot water – I love my tea aswell. Then 2 or 3 times for coffee. With out a reusable mug I could be looking at 4 or 5 in the trash each day out.

The best part about bringing my mug is not only do I get the convience of the to go, but my coffee stays nice and hot longer. Once you start useing them it’s hard to go with-out.

By: Erin

Erin — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 19:10:56 +0000

I live in Albany, NY and I recently saw a sign in my starbucks saying that if you’re gonna stick around ask for a mug! It might just be mine though, they’re really good about doing a lot of the corporate eco-stuff. They have out bags of coffee grounds every day for gardeners and encourage ppl to bring travel mugs. I have a problem with the big corporation thing too, but it’s right across from the law school and the indi-shops aren’t withing driving distance.

By: OctaVentiConPanna

OctaVentiConPanna — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:35:31 +0000

Back in the day, they used to have ceramic cups if you ask. Maybe they still do.

And they have the Venti, Grande, and Tall because its a sales thing. They don’t want you to feel you got anything but something that was BIG. So all the sizes are big. It’s all good. Just remember that Tall is small and small is Tall unless you want a “Short” which is smaller than a small which they call a Tall. The “Short” is not on the menu cuz they don’t want to introduce words into your subconscious to make you feel you’re getting shorted. Maybe they still have the “Short”. Just ask.

By: igreenspot

igreenspot — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 04:39:20 +0000

next time, bring your own mug and ask them to fill it !

By: E.R. Dunhill

E.R. Dunhill — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 18:39:57 +0000

Starre,
Damn that powerful ceramic cup lobby.

By: greg

greg — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 03:55:34 +0000

I have been ranting about coffee places that need to offer real, adult ceramics for adults to drink from for years.

“Eco” all you want, the truth is that:
* A paper cup makes your beverage taste like, well, paper. Scientific and marketing research have proven that the vessel used for serving a beverage has an impact to a customer’s overall enjoyment with it.
* We’re not sitting around wearing party hats at the birthday party of some four-year-old. So why are we drinking our coffee like we are? Adult cups for an adult beverage for adult drinkers, OK?

If you’re going to offer us some of the freshest coffee beans around, have it carefully roasted to perfection, serve it by skilled baristas, and then charge us $1.65 for the experience — why make us feel like we’re taking a pregnancy test down at the free clinic?

By: Rob

Rob — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 22:31:13 +0000

Thanks for writing about this! It drives me crazy all these people sitting in the cafe with their to-go cups. It’s absolute madness. What’s even more brutal is that if you talked to a lot of these people, they’d tell you that they’re concerned about deforestation, climate change, and so on.

Even when I took political ecology courses at university, there are people bringing a trowaway cup to class every time….how hard is it to bring a reusable mug??? Ridiculous people.

cheers,

By: Starre

Starre — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 20:17:38 +0000

sorry, I was inadvertantly signed in under my roomies’ name.

By: Starre

Starre — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 20:17:01 +0000

ctf- point taken. I think I will be going there less now (also now spring is here!) after thinking about it this much. Maybe I can arrange them to give me a shot of caffeine in my arm next time (ahhhh!!! medical waste!)