Yesterday morning, I stopped by a Starbucks on the way to work to grab a cup of coffee. Mixing in my cream and sugar, I couldn’t help noticing the big green lettered “YOU” on the cup. “Me?” I thought. Hmm, I’m always interested in me!
And so I read on to learn that through my purchase, I was contributing to ethical trade—Starbucks bought more than 228 million pounds of responsibly grown coffee last year. I also learned that the corrugated cardboard “hot sleeve” keeping my hand cool was made of 60% post-consumer fiber.
Both cup and sleeve featured a link to Starbucks’ sustainability website, but most people probably don’t make it that far. So, I am perhaps among the few who admire the approach: quick stat on cup, full background on website to buttress claims and avoid charges of greenwashing. The brief message on each cup (and napkin, and hot sleeve, and…) makes it into the hands of millions of people each day: form, function, content, and context all rolled into one.
I’ve always been one to read the cereal boxes on my breakfast table. Now it’s coffee cups. And I’m finding that what’s on the packaging is getting a lot more interesting every day.
