SUPCUPs are more than just cups. Our goal is to empower you to be an advocate for sustainable action in your community. We believe that your parties and gatherings are the ideal place for you to inspire your friends and family to positively impact the earth through individual and collective action.
Community
You have the power to create a ripple effect within your community. Research shows that when it comes to making sustainable choices, neighbors influence neighbors more than any other factor. Our hope is that you, a proud SUPCUP owner, will host fabulous events with your neighbors, friends, and family, serving drinks out of SUPCUPs. These cups always spark conversations, and we hope that you will explain to your guests why you use them and what other sustainable actions you take. This seems so easy and small, but it is powerful and effective.
We are in the midst of a climate crisis. At SUPCUPs, we are not disillusioned that simply swapping your plastic party cup for a reusable party cup will drastically change the course of climate change. This is a great first step to help the environment, but barely scratches the surface. Public policy that holds big polluters accountable is the most effective way to save and improve our environment. But these policies are not created in a vacuum. The way elected representatives keep their jobs is to reflect the demands of their constituents. The way big corporations keep their customers is by paying attention to how they use their dollars. This is where you come in.
Many of your neighbors are concerned about the climate, but are not sure how to act on their concern. They take their cues from you and notice whether or not you are acting. Here is your chance to be the advocate, plant the seeds, show you care, and make a huge difference in your community. With all of this in mind, post-COVID, SUPCUPs will be sponsoring and sharing your neighborhood events! Send info@supcups.com an email with your idea for a sustainability-focused gathering and we will work out a plan to support you :)
Transparency
A plastic party cup costs 10 cents. However, the true cost of a plastic party cup is not reflected in its market price. The true cost would need to factor in all of the negative externalities accrued to society by the cup's existence. Such externalities include how the oil is harnessed for the plastic and who is harmed in this process, how the workers are compensated for the health issues they suffer from working with toxins, and how the environment, people, and animals are harmed when the cups breakdown in landfills and the ocean over hundreds of years. How can you put a price on all of this damage?
At SUPCUPs, we want you to hold us and other companies accountable for our collective impact on the earth. Here is the information you need to make an informed decision before your purchase:
- SUPCUPs are made from food-grade stainless steel. We chose stainless steel because it is the most easily recycled material. This means that we can use recycled scraps to create a new SUPCUP. Additionally, at the end of the cup's life, it can be recycled into something new. If the SUPCUP does not make it to a recycling facility, stainless steel bears no impact on soil or water.
- SUPCUPs are made in China by a thoroughly vetted supplier. The price of a SUPCUP reflects the higher cost we pay to manufacture them safely for the workers and the environment.
- SUPCUPs are shipped in bulk by sea. It is not ideal to be shipping across the whole ocean, however this is the current most sustainable method available.
- SUPCUPs are shipped to the customer in compostable packaging sourced from a woman-run, local business.
Feel free to email info@supcups.com with questions or ideas!
Sustainability
Sustainability is at the core of everything SUPCUPs stands for. From using recycled stainless steel scraps to create new SUPCUPs, to shipping our cups in compostable packaging, our impact on the earth is the driving factor in all business decisions. In November 2020, SUPCUPs will be an official partner of Yvon Chouinard's nonprofit, 1% for the Planet. We pledge to commit 1% of our annual revenue to keeping plastic out of the ocean.