April 22, 2024
By Camille Echols
Editor-in-Chief
This article is part of an in-depth reporting project for Earth Day.
From Hydro Flasks to Stanley drinkware, sustainable products have been the subject of various internet trends in recent years. These items often gain traction for the benefits they offer to the environment, but does their trending status end up erasing the point of their environmental mission?
Biology and environmental science teacher Ms. Manzella, who advises the Environmental Club, said treating a nondisposable, reusable product like a disposable, one-time-use product can be worse for the environment, especially when occurring on a larger scale.
Manzella said corporations are more focused on selling their products than on their environmental mission and often use “greenwashing” techniques, meaning they make themselves look more eco-friendly than they truly are.
“It is the companies that are mass-producing products in numbers that are more than they can sell that are canceling out individuals’ attempts at sustainability,” Manzella said.
According to research conducted by the news website ESG Dive and the research firm RepRisk, 25% of climate-linked risk incidents from September 2022-2023 were from companies that made misleading claims about their environmental impact. This was up 20% from the previous year.
“It is hard to not have a negative impact on our environment in the world we live in today.”
Manzella said overconsumption is tough to avoid.
“It is possible for people to live without overconsuming, but I think it just takes a lot more thought, research and effort to actively change to a more sustainable lifestyle,” Manzella said.
On Jan. 3, the food and beverage container company Stanley released a limited edition winter pink Valentine’s Day quencher, which was a collaboration with Starbucks. The cup created commotion as hundreds of people camped outside of Target department stores across the country to secure one.
The collaboration sparked controversy among environmental activists who believe Stanley was promoting overconsumption, which defeats the purpose of its drink containers.
According to an opinion article published in the environmental law charity Ecojustice, both consumers and the company itself expressed concerns about collecting and profiting off the cups rather than reducing plastic waste.
Junior Izabel Graziani, who is president of the Environmental Club, said the creation of limited edition products by corporations takes away from the mission of being more sustainable.
“The limited edition versions of the cups defeat the purpose of them being sustainable because it’s a cash grab intended to cause a consumer craze,” Graziani said.
According to the lifestyle publication L’Officiel, on Aug. 8, 2023, the reusable shopping bag brand Baggu released early access on its website for its new collection, which sold out in less than 10 minutes.
The bags became a collector fad for many on TikTok, which casts doubt on the company’s mission of being environmentally conscious while feeding into overconsumption with early access and limited edition drops.
Graziani said collector culture does not have to be environmentally damaging.
“Everyone should be able to indulge in the things they like and even participate in trends as long as it’s in moderation,” Graziani said.
She said corporations become money-hungry after seeing their sales increase, which causes them to focus on producing greater quantities to keep people interested.
“The Stanley brand may have had sustainability in mind when first creating the company, but they have shifted focus on just selling more bottles,” Graziani said. “People should also be holding themselves accountable for their consumption [as opposed to] hopping on the next Stanley trend.”
Senior Joshua Machcinski, who is a member of the Environmental Club, said consumerism is part of everyday life.
“It is hard to not have a negative impact on our environment in the world we live in today,” Machcinski said.
He said the desire to collect a variety of Stanley cups can cause harm to the environment.
“I can see having different varieties, but the company loses its mission of having eco-friendly cups when people start impulse buying them,” Machcinski said.
Senior Michelle Boinett, who is in Manzella’s Environmental Science Honors dual enrollment class, said Stanley releases limited edition cups to encourage the fad of its products to last longer.
“The limited versions of the Stanley cups work as a form of accessorizing the item. It makes the products look more appealing, and it also attracts a lot more customers,” Boinett said.
She said corporations are most at fault for overconsumption because of their alluring marketing strategies.
“Corporations are pushing their products to the public and catering to the public’s interests. They have found a new way of marketing their products, and this causes most to fall into their trap,” Boinett said. “I also think that people are at fault because they continue to consume these products.”
