The Yeti, Hydro Flask and now most recently, the Stanley cup. Water bottles have become a part of our daily lives, whether it’s for the brands, stickers or even just using them for their intended purpose. People have bought so many. But, in truth, who needs more than four, if we say they are truly reusable? You might have a sustainable bottle, but what good is it if it sits at home and collects dust? Although I have four different types of water bottles, most of them were gifts and I still find a way to cycle among using three every day. I take two outside and one is for home use. If people want to use water bottles for the purpose of being green, one of the best ways to actually save materials is to have just a few bottles you like and actually use them. A lot.

While these cups seem to offer a “green” solution, as a friendly alternative to single use plastic bottles, more people seem to be buying metal water bottles in bulk; the only difference between each bottle being its color. The logo of a water bottle has become a status symbol, like how Supreme had sold clothes for an insanely high price yet didn’t bring anything dramatically special. First exploding after influencers shared the cup as an aesthetic that fits the beauty trends of having hydrated and natural skin, the cup just shows you are up to date and you can fit the identity. Even on TikTok, people have bragged about their ability to match their multiple Stanley cups to their outfits, but what this ultimately means is the Stanley cup has become a fashion accessory. The revolving door of trends has turned water bottles into a collectors market, becoming a part of the issue they were supposed to solve. Instead of being something that saves resources, the craze around water bottles has turned into a fast-fashion type of problem.

To be fair, out of all those people who bought the new Stanley water bottle, only a few are actually binge buyers. Because people seem to buy these water bottles even when they already have many fine ones, companies are able to take advantage of these buyers. Let’s take Starbucks’ pink Stanley cups for an example. Being sold at Target for a short while in January, people fought over it, much like Black Friday brawls. What caused this was the fact that the color was limited edition and people were willing to spend hundreds just to find a reseller online. Companies have been able to create insane hype around their products just by creating scarcity over the color of a cup and, sadly, it works.
As I type this, I am drinking water from a custom Yeti cup from the lab I was part of. I understand the obsession with finding the perfect cup: one that looks nice, keeps your drink cold and fits in your hand and car holders. What I can’t understand is the trend of buying so many cups and getting a new one each time the trend changes. Of course, people are allowed to spend money on things that make them happy, but people should just think each time the trend changes, “Do I really need a new water bottle?”

The views in this column do not necessarily reflect the views of the HiLite staff. Reach Isaac Hsu at [email protected].