Stanley Cup Plague

The recent trend of Stanley Cups on social media and in school has students at Northwest developing mixed feelings about these eco-friendly water bottles.

The uprising of Stanley Cups started on social media, specifically on TikTok. Although the usage of these reusable metal cups reduces the use of plastic water bottles, the obsession over them is seen as concerning to a few individuals. 

“I’ve seen grown adults have shelves of these Stanley Cups claiming it’s a cute collection, but they’re water cups, just one is enough, that is just overconsumption,” Selena Jiang, a junior at NWCTA said. 

Originally, Stanley had made reusable water bottles that were popular amongst outdoorsmen. The main consumers changed after the company started exploring influencer marketing. Soon enough, grown adults began camping outside of Target for hours just to buy an exclusive Valentine’s Stanley.

“I think they’re so interested because it is marketed towards them. It’s similar to how kids want to complete a set of toys,” Alexis Bugarian, a junior at NWCTA explained. 

When the company noticed the amount of traction the Stanley Cups got, they decided to switch their marketing strategy to marketing the cup as something aspirational rather than useful.  

“I’d never buy a Stanley because I already have a water bottle that can hold water perfectly fine, there’s no point in buying another one just for a certain color,” junior, Omar Castillo expressed.

Many people are easily influenced after seeing how popular others get from participating in the current trend. 

“It’ll phase out when people realize the amount of money spent isn’t worth it,” Castillo said.